The Answer
by AnnFleur
Summary: What if the conversation at the end of The Parts in the Sum of the Whole  5x16-100th episode  would have gone differently? I didn't like how Booth gave up so easily, so I fixed things. Warning: Sexual content.
1. How it Started

'I'm the gambler.'

She turned to look at him, unsure of his meaning.

'I believe in giving this a chance.'

A sadness crossed her eyes, still not sure what he was trying to say.

'Look, I wanne give this a shot,' he continued.

Brennan looked at him. 'You mean us?' This was territory she didn't want to enter into.

'No, the FBI won't let us work together as a couple..'

He shook his head, knowing she was looking for excuses.

'Don't do that, that is no reason,' he said and with that, he kissed her.

She almost kissed him back, but at the last moment, pushed him away.

'No. No.'

'Why? Why?' He didn't understand.

She looked at him with a sadness he'd never seen in her.

'You thought you were protecting me but you're the one that needs protecting.'

He frowned. 'Protecting from what?'

'From me!' She hade a hopeless gesture with her hand. 'I don't have your kind of open heart.'

There were tears in her eyes, she wasn't ready for this.

He looked at her with despair. 'Let's just.. Give it a chance, that's all I'm asking'.

She shook her head. 'You said it yourself, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome.'

His expression saddened. 'Then let's go for a different outcome here, allright. Let's just.. Hear me out, allright. You know when you talk to older couples, that have been in love for thirty, or forty, or fifty years, it's always the guy that says, I knew. I knew! Right from the beginning.' He wished and prayed to God he was getting through to her.

A tear dropped from her eye. 'Your evidence is anecdotal.'

He stepped closer. 'I'm that guy. Bones, I'm that guy. I know.'

She looked at him for a second. Another tear.

'I.. I am not a gambler. I'm a scientist. I can't change, I don't know how.

He felt her take his heart and shatter into a million pieces.

'I don't know how,' she repeated. 'Please don't look so sad.'

He stood there, not knowing what had just happened. He wanted to give up. He wanted to run and never look over his shoulder ever again. But he couldn't. This woman possessed his entire heart. He'd been fooled into thinking that it was his brain tumor, but it wasn't. He had known for almost six years that he would never be able to live without this woman. So he held on.

'I don't want you to change. You don't have to change, Bones.'

'I am not you. I can't love unconditionally. I don't know what it means.'

'I'll show you, I'll teach you. We'll be fine, please, just give it a chance.'

She had tried stopping her tears but it was no use. She wanted to let go. She wanted to try and make him happy but the risk was so great.

'I can't lose you, Booth.'

He looked at her with wide eyes. 'You won't. It'll work out, I promise.'

'And if it doesn't and if I fail you, you'll leave me and I won't survive,' she explained in one sentence. He couldn't believe his ears. He took her hands, squeezed them and put them over his heart. 'Bones, I promise you. You won't lose me. I'm here to stay. If this doesn't work out we'll go back to being partners. I'll always be here for you. I need you in my life.'

She wiped away some of the tears that were freely flowing down her cheeks. 'You can't promise me that.'

'I can't, but I can promise you that I'll love you. In thirty, forty or even fifty years from now, I'll still love you as much as I love you today.' He hoped his confession wouldn't scare her off. It didn't.

'I.. I don't know,' she said.

He decided to take her home and just slowly try to show her what he meant. He put an arm around her shoulder and walked her to the car. She rested her head on his shoulder, unsure what their conversation had meant and what it had changed. She hoped he would show her.

As she opens the door to her apartment, she feels him behind her. His hands are on her hips, directing her inside. She puts one hand on one of his and takes it off her hip. 'Booth..'

She is pleading with him, like the night he had convinced her to take his 'guy-hug' and let her believe that was all it was. This time however, he couldn't deny her the truth.

'Look Bones, I just.. I feel like we can be so much more. I want us to try. Just trust me. Let go, for once. If you don't like it we'll go back to what we are now, ok?' He takes her face between his hands, thumbs stroking away the tears that are flowing again. She looks sad.

'I can't.. I can't let you hurt me.'

He shakes his head, grateful for her truthfulness. 'I'll never hurt you. Never.' He moves closer and then he stops. Her breathing quickens, he is so close. If she just raises her chin.. No.

She moves away, unbuttoning her coat and hanging it on a hook. 'I don't know..'

She still wasn't convinced. He follows her into the kitchen, and he decides a harder approach may just overwhelm her enough to give him a chance. As she is pouring wine at the kitchen counter, he approaches her and with one hand on her shoulder, turns her around. Before she can say anything, his other hand is in her hair and his lips are on hers. He kisses her with such tenderness, but his hands tell another story. The hand on her hip pushes her back into the counter, keeping her in place, while the hand in her hair softly rakes through her locks, keeping her head to him. She is amazed by the feelings he stirs within her. His lips softly nibble on her upper lip, and then her lower, before his tongue sneaks out to lick each lip. She sighs and his tongue sneaks in and out of her mouth.

Finally, she regains her control and pushes him away. 'Booth.'

He is not about to give up. His other hand moves to her hip as well and he pulls her to him. She drops the wine glass that was still in her hand and it shatters on the tile floor. She looks down at it, but Booth hugs her to him and her arms instinctively hug him back, a combination of shock from the shattering glass and the need for human warmth.

She realizes what she is doing, pulls back a little, and Booth shoots a prayer into the sky. She sighs and puts her head back on his shoulder, both arms tightening around his body.

'Just guide me, ok?'

It was almost too soft to be a whisper, but he heard every letter of it and he pulled her in tighter, never going to let go ever again. 'Just tell me when you need me, Bones. I'll be here.' She nodded into his chest. They forgot about the wine glass, they walked into the living room and they sat down on the couch. Brennan snuggled into Booth and he kissed the top of her head.

'What do we do now?' she asked, careful.

He smiled into her hair. 'I'm taking you to bed, you're going to think about what happened and tomorrow, we'll see where you want to take it. We do this at your pace.'

She nodded her thanks and he stood, her head still tucked close to his heart.

When they had reached the bedroom, Brennan finally let go of him. 'I'll be right back,' she said and disappeared into the bathroom. 'Do you want me to stay?' Booth called after her. She didn't answer. 'I'll just clean up the kitchen for you,' he called. No answer.

He put his coat on the couch and cleaned up the broken glass in the kitchen, grateful it hadn't snapped in her hand. He was feeling unsure of what she wanted him to do. He knew he wasn't going to make love to her tonight, she'd see it as satisfying his needs and she wouldn't understand the meaning of 'making love.' He needed to give her time to adjust and to think about what she wanted him to mean to her. Just as he walked back into the living room, he heard Bones call to him. 'Booth?' She sounded a little scared. He hurried to the bedroom, to find her sitting up in bed. 'I thought you'd gone.'

'I'd never leave without telling you,' he said. All the corny stuff he kept saying to her made too much sense. She'd laugh at anyone else if they'd say something like that to her, but from Booth, she believed it. She dropped her eyes to focus on the hands in her lap and she seemed hesitant.

'What?' he asked.

She looked up at him and actually blushed. 'Thank you.'

He nodded. 'Anything you need.' He understood her. She smiled at him, snuggled in her pillow and he pulled the blanket over her. 'Good night.' Her eyes were already closed but he knew she wasn't asleep. He slowly leaned in and kissed her on her forehead before leaving and softly closing the door behind him. He had no idea wether he was getting through to her, but she seemed to allow him in more than he had dared to dream of.

He was about to open her front door when he heard her voice. 'Booth.'

He turned around and walked back towards the bedroom, only to be met halfway by Brennan, who opened the door right in front of him. Before he could think, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. He kissed her back for a second before his brain was working again, then he slowly parted them and looked into her eyes. 'Bones, don't..'

'I'm not doing this anymore, Booth.'

'Do what?'

'Be scared. I'm no longer scared.'

He backed her into the bedroom and sat her onto the bed before sitting down next to her. 'Scared?'

'I was so scared. I didn't know what to do. Logically, we should be together but it's so difficult to let go.'

'I know,' he said. 'I know.'

'Do you really?' she looked him deeply in the eyes.

'You can explain it to me, Bones. All I need to know is if you're sure about this.'

She nodded and placed a soft palm on his cheek. His heart jumped at the contact. 'I'm sure.'

He nodded, took her hand in his and placed it over his heart. 'You need to know something,' he said. She looked at him, her eyes starting to water.

'I'm not ever going to have sex with you.'

A tear escaped the corner of her eye. 'Why?' She didn't understand. Was she not good enough for him? Why had he lead her on like this?

'I'm only ever going to make love to you. Sweet, wild, passionate love. Never just sex, Bones.'

Her mind was processing his statement and he saw her eyes starting to shine with something new. Curiosity. 'I've never made love before,' she admitted. He had guessed. She'd had sex, sure, but love was something she hadn't wanted to understand. Tonight, he would show her.

He looks deeply into her eyes. She seems unsure what to do, so he helps her out. He takes his coat off for the second time this evening, puts it on a chair in the corner of the room and closes the bedroom door. He removes his shoes and unbuttons his shirt, when two hands stop him. She is in front of him, blushing furiously again. 'Can I..' He releases the buttons and cups her face with his hands. 'Of course.' He puts feather light kisses on her eyelids, nose, cheeks and jawbone. She seems annoyed, being obstructed from a clear view of the buttons. He smiles at her irritation, then puts his hands over hers and helps her out. She lets him pull off his shirt while her hands sneak under his t-shirt.

He wants tonight to be about her, so he pulls off his shirt and his t-shirt before taking her hands and leading her to the bed. His heart is pounding, this is his chance. He can't screw this up. This is it.

She looks him in the eye, a mischievous glint shining bright in them. He touches his lips to hers and she responds immediately, softly fitting her lips to his, and then she gently bites his bottom lip. A shot of electricity runs straight to his groin. He smiles in her mouth and becomes a bit rougher, wanting her to feel his need for her. His hands are busy undoing the buttons on her pajama top as his tongue slips inside her mouth. She welcomes him into her with a moan, her arms tightening around his neck.

Finally, he unbuttons the last button and pushes the top from her shoulders. He stands back, his mind misty and his vision blurred by the beauty in front of him. She is wearing a black lacey bra and the contrast with her pale skin was more beautiful than anything he had ever seen. She watches his eyes darken with desire and she reaches for him. He looks into her eyes and he knows right then and there that he'll never be able to deny this woman anything. She completely owns his heart, and he wants her to know. He avoids her reaching hands and kisses the base of her neck, his hands on her ribs right underneath her breasts. She gasps as he finds the tender spot behind her ear and sucks lightly on it. Her own hands are busy with his zipper, but he takes them and puts them on his chest.

'This is for you.'

She nods, understanding. He doesn't want her to have sex with him while he is making love to her. He wants her to let go of her clinical vision of sex for once. She moves away from him and climbs onto the bed. He follows her every move and he is once more rendered speechless when she removes her pajama pants. Her legs are the same creamy white color as her upper body, and the matching panties make a beautiful contrast with her pale skin, dark hair and piercing blue eyes. She watches him again as he admires her body and then, the dam breaks. The tenderness in his eyes is too much for her to bear, as she breaks down in tears.

He moves over her, careful not to scare her but enough to protect her. He puts an arm around her head and holds her to his chest, trying to soothe her. She breaks free from his arms and startles him when she throws herself on him, kissing him with more passion he has ever seen in her. He answers with equal passion, moving his hands up and down her back, his hands moving from the rim of her panties to the lace of her bra.

When he is on the verge of losing himself in her, he lifts her from him and lays her down beside him. She looks up at him with teary eyes.

'Let me show you how to let go,' he says. She nods, not hiding her tears from him. She'll give him all of her, she'll trust him on this.

He straddles her, sitting up and admiring the beauty of the woman lying under him. He aches to see her breasts, to touch them, to weigh them in his hands, to taste them, so he takes her hands and pulls her into a sitting position, her face to his chest. He kisses her ear and cheek and briefly nuzzles her hair before unclasping her bra. She is amazed by his speed and ease.

She kisses his chest, her tongue searching for his nipple but he gently pushes her back down, the bra sliding down her arms and ending up on the floor. He takes her wrists and places them gently above her head, not quite holding her in place. He whispers his admiration to her.

'You're beautiful, Temperance.' The use of her given name tears a sob from her. She doesn't understand the spiraling feelings inside of her. It's arousal, but a different wilder kind than she's felt before.

He moves down to touch her breast, seeing her darker nipple react to the cool air and his piercing hot eyes. He touches it with his thumb, causing Brennan to snap her head back and gasp. He smiles, and unable to resist, kisses her chin, down her neck and along her sternum until he reaches the other breast. Slowly licking around but never quite on her nipple, he watches the expressions cross Brennan's face. Pleasure, wonder and slight embarrassment at her own reactions cross her features and when she opens her eyes to look at him, he sees all three emotions stronger than ever. She doesn't complain, but unable to deny her the pleasure, he shifts his attention to her nipple while his other hand kneads her breast. She whispers his name and it's the most beautiful thing he's ever heard.

'You're gorgeous, Temperance,' he tells her again. She smiles, is that shyness he sees in her? He loves it. He adores it. 'You're quite an eyeful yourself,' she says, amazed at the huskiness of her voice.

She is becoming impatient, taking one of his hands and directing it down her body. When she releases him, she takes the opportunity to brush her hand over his pants. He groans and she smiles, but he doesn't want her to go there yet. He seeks permission with his eyes as his hands reach her panties. She nods, but the answer was already in her eyes. She raises her hips and he kisses them, swiftly removing her panties. She sits up a little bit more, her back leaning against the headboard of the bed. He kisses down one beautiful, toned leg and back up the other.

He is lying on his stomach, looking up onto the piece of art in front of him. Tears spring to his eyes at the sight in front of him.

Bones is looking down at him, her eyes teary and her cheeks glistering with tear drops, her hair in beautiful disarray and her full breasts slightly red from his admirations. He pulls himself onto his knees in front of her and she moves her legs to each side of him. She pulls him to her by his hair and devours his mouth with hers. Her tongue seems to have lost all its inhibitions, not wasting any time and dueling with his in a battle of passion. He wipes her tears with one hand, while the other secretly searches for her treasure. When it makes contact with her core, She almost jumps and bites down on his bottom lip, but he barely notices it. All he registers is the scent coming from her, hot and ready for him. His Bones.

She softly kisses the spot where she bit him before throwing her head back once again, a moan tearing from her throat at the delicious contact.

He slides his fingers through her wetness and around her clit. She bucks her hips towards him, and he continues his ministrations.

Brennan was at a loss. She'd never been this aroused, this needy and this emotional. Together, they were a dangerous combination, She cried out in agony, and Booth's eyes snapped to meet hers. He saw soon enough he wasn't hurting her, but she needed more of him.

She sighed at the loss of contact while he sat down next to her, undid his pants and discarded them, leaving his boxers for her to remove. She immediately sat up and straddled him, her hands going straight for his boxers. He caught them half-way and looked into her eyes.

'Bones.. Stop for a second.' She thought he was cutting this off, that he wanted to stop, so she pulled back her hands and sat back down next to him and pulled up the sheets.

He stopped her. 'No, baby. Not that.'

She looked at him, that brave look of uncertainty back in her shining eyes. He took her hands again and kissed them.

'I want to teach you something. From now on, I want you to do what you want, not what you think I want. If you touch me, it has to be because you want to. From now on, this is about you,' he whispers to her. She takes a second to process what he's telling her and then, in one swift movement, she is back over his legs straddling him and kissing him, hard. His hands go back to her beautiful spine and down her back to cup her ass, the best ass he has ever seen or felt. He pulls her closer and his mouth leaves hers to latch onto her breast. She throws her head back and tries to stifle a moan.

He releases her ass to softly stroke her breasts while his mouth kisses its way back up her neck. 'Let go, Temperance. Let go,' he whispers into her mouth.

She feels a hinge of embarrassment but pushes it away. If he wants all of her, he can have it. She can't hold back anymore.

He feels the change in her. She becomes warmer in his arms, softer, even more beautiful. His erection is painfully hard and having her core so close to him makes his cock twitch.

She moves her hands to his boxers, and this time he doesn't stop her. She moves backwards to pull his boxers down his legs and onto the bed, and he follows her, embracing her with a strength unknown to her and flips her around, so she is lying on her back once more. His eyes are so dark, so passionate that it almost scares her. She reaches for him and her hands explore the muscles in his arms, his chest, his abdomen, when finally they make contact with his manhood. He jerks forward. 'God!' He knows he won't last long with her continuing her ministrations, so he leans forward, making her lie all the way down. Instinctively, she moves her arms around his neck and spreads her legs so he can lie between them. The tip of his cock is barely touching her entrance and she is amazed at how close she is. 'Please, Booth,' she whispers.

The raw emotion in her voice is beautiful to him. She is finally showing him the true Temperance and he is in heaven. Slowly, he pushes forward and barely into her.

As soon as she feels his broad manhood enter her, she feels the wave beginning to crash over her. 'Boooth!' She calls to him to catch her, and he does. He pushes in further and holds her close, whispering into her hair while she rides out the hardest and most intense orgasm she has ever had. He bites his lip to control himself, her clenching walls too much for him to bear. She is so soft, so wet and so tight that he is unsure he'll ever be able to be anywhere else but inside her.

When she has ridden out all the waves, she opens her eyes, awash with tears of love and joy. He loses it and kisses her hard while starting to move inside of her. She encourages him, matching his pace and raking her nails down his back. It only takes seconds for her to be on the verge again, and this time she wants him to join her.

She touches his cheek and he locks eyes with her. 'I love you,' she whispers and with that, they crash over the edge together, him pushing into her as far as he can go, while she loses her grip on reality as they fly in a bliss unknown to either of them.

'Temperance. Bones!' she heard him call to her. Where was she? She opened her eyes, suddenly remembering where she is and who she is with. 'What happened?'

'You passed out, I'm sorry,' Booth kisses her forehead. He is lying next to her, naked, the blankets pulled over them after the best sex she had ever had. No, this hadn't been sex. She understood the difference now, this was making love.

'Don't be sorry,' she smiles at him. 'I'm fine.'

He continued to look at her, unsure what to expect and how to continue. He wanted to kiss her, soothe her, pull her close and sleep next to her for the rest of his days. If she stopped him now, he would never be able to love like this again.

She propped her head up on one elbow, unconsciously knowing she was in control of the situation and this position putting her head above his. She looked at him, and he was unable to read her eyes. Then, she sighed, a slight smile appeared on her lips and she snuggled close to him, pulling on his hand to embrace her.

He pulled her close and smiled in her hair.

The conversation could wait.

Tell me what you think! This story is finished so I won't be changing anything, but I'd still like reviews. Also, this is my first M story, so tell me how you think that worked out as well.


	2. How it Continued

A few hours later, he was vast asleep, but Temperance was still awake. Her brain was racing. What had happened? How had it happened, and why? What had she done, why had she done it? She didn't understand anything of their current situation. She was afraid of this, she didn't want to become too close to Booth, for it would only cause her pain in the long run, she was sure of that. Yet again, he had poured his heart out to her and deep inside, she'd known that she felt exactly the same. But how could she tell him, and how could she express those feelings? She had had sex many times before. Sex was easy. But when men wanted to get serious, when they started confessing their love to her, she became unsure. She was unsure now. What would Booth do if she told him how much she wanted this? Would she scare him? Would he be able to understand, be able to help? She didn't know. She listened to his heartbeat, feeling his hand on her arm stir every now and again, unconsciously checking if she was still there. She smiled at herself. She would try to tell Booth how she felt, and why she was afraid. She had no idea what she would do if he didn't understand her, but she had to try. Like he had told her so long ago, two people could become one, and there was no going back.

When Booth opened his eyes early the next morning, he was pleased to find his Bones still in his arms. They hadn't changed position all night, and he knew her neck must be sore, but he didn't want to wake her just yet. Yesterday evening, after their lovemaking, he had felt her tears fall onto his chest when she had thought he was already asleep. He knew she must have been up for most part of the night, trying to analyze this, trying to make any logical sense of it. He hoped she had succeeded.

He covered her hand lying on his chest wit his free hand, and she stirred, so he softly squeezed her arm with his other hand. 'Good morning.'

'Good morning,' she answered. She betrayed nothing with he voice, although it sounded a bit shaky. He kissed the top of her head and she rolled her body so she wasn't lying half on top of him anymore, but directly beside him, facing him. She carefully avoided his eyes, and he decided it was best to talk to her immediately rather than wait for her to draw her conclusions, for they might be the wrong ones.

He rolled on his side as well, facing her, his right arm coming around her waist to pull her closer. She allowed him to sneak his other arm underneath her and embrace her with both arms, pulling her close once more, her cheek to his chest. 'I love you, Bones. I'm never going to let you down'.

She rose her hands to his chest, feeling his muscles ripple under her touch.

'That is not a certainty,' she answered. He pulled away a bit, taking his one hand to raise her chin to look at him.

'It might not sound like a certainty to you, but I'm dead serious. I'm not walking out on this, Bones. Not even if you ask me to.'

She met his eyes, tears welling up again. She hated it when she couldn't control her emotions. 'I'm not asking that of you. But you can't promise me things you don't know for certain you can live up to.'

'Why do you think I won't stay with you?'

She rolled away from him to lie on her back, eyes directed towards the ceiling.

'Because things can happen that we can't control. You might get shot, you might die and you'll leave me when that happens.'

'But Bones.. That won't happen. And if it does, for whatever reason, the pain won't be worse if we share a life. It will be less, because you'll have so many good memories to remember me by. And you know, it's not just me who is in the dangerous line of work here, all right? You might get shot and die just as I could.'

She put a hand on her forehead. 'I know, but.. You're strong, and I'm just so scared.'

She had told him this last night, and he had said that there would be more than enough time for her to explain to him why she was scared. This was her time.

'Scared? Of what, Temperance?'

She sat up, pulling the covers up, more for support than to hide herself from him.

'Scared of losing my grip on reality, I guess.'

'Scared of losing your independence to me,' he said. He knew Bones, he knew she needed a degree of independence to stay focused. He understood her fear of losing herself in this relationship, as he had already accepted that he was lost. He would help her, but he would also need her help.

She nodded. 'I guess.'

He sat up next to her, pulling on his boxers in an effort to make the situation less tense.

'I can't tell you what this will do to you. How this will affect you. But I can tell you that whenever you feel it's too much, I'll back down. You can be alone if you want to, Bones, I'll do whatever it takes to make you feel safe, but if you need some distance to focus then that's fine. Just don't shut me out. I'm here to help.'

She turned her head to look at him. Her ice blue eyes were filled with a look he knew all too well. It was that time again, when Brennan knew she had already made a decision but was wondering if on second hand, it was the right one. It came after a moment of pure irrational clarity, and most of the time, she decided it had been the wrong one. He didn't want her to think that last night had been the wrong decision. His head was racing. How could he convince her?

'Bones, please. Let's just try this. Look at me like one of your squinterns, you know? I'm on a trial period, ok?

She smiled at his analogy. 'A trial period, huh.' Then she nodded slowly. 'Ok, we can try that.'

He smiled broadly and leaned in to kiss her softly and shortly on the lips. She kissed him back, and her heart was beating so hard it muffled the sound of her head screaming at her to walk away.

Booth was in her kitchen, preparing a quick breakfast. He wasn't sure he could have contained himself much longer, sitting in bed next to a very naked Bones, and he didn't want her to thing he was taking sexual advantage of her, so he had told her to wait in bed while he prepared breakfast. He also wanted her to understand that she could be with him and still think straight. Too much loss of control would definitely scare her now, so he'd give her space, wait for her to come to him or to at least give him permission before he'd physically show her his love again, no matter how hard it would be for him.

Brennan sat up on the bed, looking around her. His clothes were discarded all over and around the bed, while her pajamas were on the floor. It almost looked like some vicious attack had taken place, but luckily she knew better. In every way though, last night had been different from what she'd experienced with a man before. This morning, also. Usually, a man wanted to have sex again, or at least touch her intimately. Booth hadn't tried, and although he had touched her waist and kissed her, she wasn't sure why he hadn't wanted more. She decided not to think too much of it, but she put on a robe before he came back with breakfast.

When he came back, she was still sitting up, but the robe covering her told him she'd been out of bed and gotten back in. He made a note in his head: Bones likes breakfast in bed. He put down the plate, carrying two steaming mugs of coffee and a plate of toast, cheese and jam he'd found in a cupboard. She didn't say anything during breakfast, but occasionally she would look at him when she thought he was focused on his toast. He let her observe and when they'd finished, he sat down next to her on the bed, leaning back against the headboard with his hands behind his head.

'So how do you feel?' He knew it was hard for her to express her feelings.

She shrugged. 'Breakfast was nice.'

'I don't mean about breakfast.'

'I know.'

She looked at him, then she stood up from the bed and walked towards the bathroom. 'I could use a shower.'

He had no idea if she meant for him to follow her or not, and while his body was screaming for him to go after her and shower with her, his mind said to stay and wait for her to call him.

Brennan was at a loss. What should she do? Last night had been so wonderful, had it been a dream? She had thought it was real love, the kind that doesn't go away easily, but the way he was behaving made her think otherwise. Although he would have tried to take advantage of her if he was simply after her body, he hadn't tried touching her or really talking to her, and it scared her. She didn't know wether to do what her heart told her, or what her brain had been trying to tell her: Should she run back to him and tell him she wanted him, or should she run from him and tell him this couldn't be?

She decided to try talking to him first.

His mind was imagining what might be going on in the bathroom when the door opened again. There she was, still in her robe, walking towards him with an uncertainty that scared him.

'Are you mad at me?' she asked. His jaw dropped. 'Mad? No, Bones, why would I be mad?'

She stopped, a meter from the bed. 'Well, usually men try to have sex with me again in the morning.'

'Usually?'

'Yes, that's what most men do, when they appreciate what happened the night before.'

He frowned and approached her, getting of the bed and standing right in front of her. 'Appreciate? Bones, last night was amazing. I just don't know how you feel about it and I sure as hell don't want to look like just another guy trying to get laid here.'

She smiled her crooked smile at him.

'Aren't you one of those guys?'

He didn't blink. 'No. I'm here to stay. I'm here in so many more ways than just for sex, Bones.'

'But I like sex,' she said, and stepped closer. He took her hands. 'So do I, but this is about more. This is about sharing your life. When it gets hard, I'm here. And I want you to use that. Don't try to do it alone anymore, please.'

The smile had faded from her face. 'I won't.'

He released her hands and kissed her forehead. 'Good. Now go take that shower.'

She nodded and turned around. He would follow her a little later, but for now he wanted to give her a little room. He took everything back to the kitchen and put it in her dishwasher. When he heard the water running in the bathroom, he decided to follow her. She hadn't locked or even fully closed the door, so he could peek around the corner. He saw her standing in front of the bathtub that was also a shower, testing the warmth of the water, her back towards him. He soundlessly opened the door and in one movement, put one arm around her waist and used his other hand to untie the rope holding her robe in place. She had been half expecting him, because she almost didn't jump at his actions.

There he was , one arm around her waist, holding her back to his chest, their body contact and his arm the only things holding her clothing to her. She turned her head to the side, looking at him over her shoulder. 'Are you going to let me get in?'

'Only if you'll let me join you,' he said in her ear. She faked a moment of consideration, and then she surprised him by turning around in his arms.

The movement caused the robe to fall open and she revealed herself to him for the first time in full daylight. He had seen her yesterday night, but he hadn't imagined she could be even more beautiful than she had been to him then. But she was. The light coming through the high, small window of her bathroom and the artificial light in the room made her skin glow like a candle, making it appear even lighter than it was and giving it a beautiful, soft glow. She blushed when he kept staring at her, first at her face, and when his eyes moved down, so did her blush.

He had known she had beautiful curves, she'd shown them off at many occasions and he had always appreciated them, but now that he realized exactly how gorgeous she was, he found he was dumbstruck. All he could do was stare and feel his arousal slowly take over his body.

Brennan watched him watch her, his eyes dark and dangerous with his growing arousal. She found the darkness in his eyes both arousing and a bit frightening, this was the fighter in him, the protector, the man she had come to know and the man she earned her life to. She knew she was safe in his arms, and that he would never use his strengths against her, but still, it was quite adventurous to think about what he could do if he wanted to. Silently, she had had some fantasies about that. She felt her blush spread as his eyes wandered down to her breasts.

Her breasts were exquisite, round and full and soft like peaches.

He touches them softly, covering them with his hands before running his fingers along their sides, seeing her nipples respond immediately. Her chest heaves up and down, and he reaches around her shoulders, dropping the whole robe to the floor, revealing her entirely to him. He stands back, admiring her slightly rounded tummy and her beautifully shaped hips, her legs, all the way down to her feet, and back up her legs and upper body again. It's too much for his mind to take in so he kisses her to try and show her what he is feeling.

She sees the growing arousal in his underwear, but even though she wants to touch him, decides to wait until he is finished worshipping her body. His kiss burns hotly on her lips, and when she kisses him back, her tongue is struggling to teach him her language of love, trying to teach him the depth of her feelings and she knows she will never be able to tell him what she is feeling, but she doesn't care. She'll just have to try. When the kiss ends, she gets in the tub, standing under the running water. The warm water feels like fire on her skin, feeding her arousal and his too, when he discards his boxers and joins her without a second thought.

'I love you, Bones,' he says. She nods. 'I would like to tell you how I feel but I am afraid I'll do injustice to my feelings.'

He smiles at her. 'I know.' Her eyes mesmerize him once more and they stand under the running water, just looking at each other. When she looks away he comes to his senses. 'Can I try showing you how I feel?' he asks. She nods, honored by his request. He really is such a selfless lover, not even wanting her to return the favor, as he seems to get his satisfaction from loving her alone.

He kisses her again, rougher this time, pushing her back to the wall of the shower. She hisses as the cool tiles make contact with her back and her hands grip at the muscles in his upper arms. The she's back kissing him, trying to show him how much she feels for him, but still feeling inadequate. He moves his hands from her hips to her face, somehow aware of her inner struggle. 'Bones, I know how you feel. I've known all along, deep down I've known.' He puts one hand over his heart. 'Our hearts have belonged to each other since the first time we met. I know you don't believe in that, but I do, and I think on this occasion, you might want to make an exception.'

She nods. 'I believe that you are right. There is no other explanation.' Then, the time for conversation is over as he moves his hands back to her hips, moving around to her ass and further down to run through her already gathered wetness while his lips are busy with her earlobe and the spot right behind, driving her insane with thousands of butterflies running from her head straight to her groin. 'Right there,' she encourages him. He smiles at himself, this is what he wants from her. Surrender.

He learns something about surrender though when her hands find his belly button and her thumb sneaks in, while her other fingers stroke just beneath it. 'God! Bones, you'll kill me.' She smiles against his ear. 'Not yet,' she whispers before she's overcome with another surge of arousal and his fingers encounter even more heat. When he releases her earlobe from between his teeth and starts moving down slowly, she opens her eyes to lock eyes with him. His hands go to her knees and start slowly moving up while his tongue starts licking down from her tummy towards her core. She shivers in anticipation. Although she has never really been able to enjoy oral sex, she has a feeling this will be different. His fingers meet his mouth and he licks them clean before slowly letting two finger search her entrance. His other hand pushes the inside of her thigh softly, asking her to spread a little. She does even better, raising one leg to stand on the side of the tub. The hot water is still pouring down on them, soaking her hair and making it impossible for her to think straight with the noise of it crashing on her body and on his head.

Then she loses her grip on reality even more when his tongue sneaks out to lick at her clit while one of his fingers slides into her. She cries out his name and her hand grips in his hair, keeping him to her. He licks her clit steadily, moving his finger all the way in before he slides it back out. She is amazingly soft, hot and tight and he almost comes at the feel of her muscles gripping his finger. He moves two fingers through her wetness before slowly entering her, and he feels the grip on his hair tighten. 'Yes, Booth,' she encourages him but somehow he feels he isn't doing enough. He wonders wether she has ever really enjoyed this, but he decides to go with is instinct. He sucks her clit lightly before using his teeth to stimulate it. Then, he curls his fingers inside of her, trying to locate her spot. He moves them in and out, trying to pay close attention to her movements and sounds, but the water is making it impossible for him to concentrate. Suddenly, he feels her knees almost buckle and her inner muscles grip his fingers, and he feels a slightly rougher patch inside of her. Knowing this is it, he massages it, while licking her clit and stroking up and down her thigh with his other hand. 'Booth!' she calls, almost scared. He smiles against her, and goes with his instinct once more. Pushing forwards and upwards, he grazes her clit lightly with his teeth again, and this time her knees give out as she produces something he can only describe as a wail as he feels her muscles contract tightly around his fingers. She falls half over him, and he half catches her with his free arm while her arms come around his back to break the rest of her fall.

He maneuvers from underneath her, sitting her down on the side of the tub, sitting down next to her. Her hands lean on his thigh. 'Wow, that was.. What was that?' she asks, her eyes big and her breathing ragged.

He smiles at her. 'You're telling me you've never found your G-spot?'

'I never believed it to be a real thing,' she admitted. 'Wow.'

His response was to kiss her. She tasted herself on his tongue, and her arousal surged again. She reached for his cock, painfully aroused again, oozing a little from the tip. She kissed him back, softly and tenderly, while her hands told a different story. She gripped him with her strong hands, and her thumb spread the wetness around his tip. She stood, and he followed her, still kissing her, his hands in her tousled wet hair. Her knees were still a bit weak, so she used her other hand to steady herself around his hips. She looked into his eyes, remembering what he had said about her touching him. 'I want to do this,' she said, and slowly moved to stand in front of him and moving down his body. He knew immediately what she was going to do and he stopped her. 'Are you sure? Because you don't have to.'

She nodded. 'I know, but I want to. I like it.'

He shook his head. 'I read somewhere that women rarely like giving oral sex to men.'

She shook her head. 'Your research is flawed. I like it.' He decided not to argue any longer, partially because she was already kneeling right in front of his member. She grasped him with both hands and licked the tip, causing him to jerk his hips forward involuntarily. 'Bones..'

'I know,' she said, knowing he was warning her he wouldn't last long. She looked into his eyes once more, her blues burning straight into his heart. Then, she licked her lips and her tongue came out to lick a wet trail from his balls to his tip, and breaking eye contact, she took him into her mouth. He was bigger than she'd thought she'd seen yesterday, and she had trouble fitting him in her mouth, but she didn't care. She loved the feel of the large vein throbbing on her tongue. Slowly, she guided him almost out of her mouth before taking him back in, swallowing a bit of pre-cum from his tip. He groaned, gripping her hair now and guiding her to where he liked it most. He pulled out all the way before slowly pushing the tip back in, and she let him guide her head in whichever way he wanted. She soon understood what he liked and she sucked lightly on his tip, her tongue massaging the underside of his cock. He hissed and jerked forward again.

'Bones.. I don't want to come like this.' She took him in her hands, frowning. 'Why not?'

'I want to be inside you.' She had to admit, her insides were raging to have him inside of her but she had thought this wasn't the time. She was both honored and pleased that he saw it differently. She stood, kissing him under his belly button and on his sternum before kissing his chin, not knowing wether he'd like to taste himself on her like she had tasted herself on him. He pushed her back into the wall again, surprising her by crashing his mouth onto her and immediately sneaking his tongue inside her mouth. She kissed him back eagerly and he lifted her by her hips, surprising her yet again. She locked her legs behind his back and was shocked at the angle this position created. She could already anticipate this position would cause him to hit the exact same spot as he'd touched earlier, making her see fireworks. He rocked forwards, and his tip entered her. He moaned, 'God, Bones, you feel so good.' She leaned her head back against the tiles and marveled at the feeling of him entering her. The penetration was so deep she could feel him filling her up all the way, and when he pulled out and pushed back in a bit harder, he hit her spot and she just lost it. 'Yes!' she called. He repeated the action and her muscles gripped him so hard, he couldn't control himself anymore. His rhythm became fast and hard and Brennan hung onto him, crying and calling to him to come with her as she came even harder than before. He pushed into her once more, filling her beyond what he thought possible, and he let go as he joined her in her bliss. Cradling her head to him he cried with her, into the crook of her neck, while spilling his seed deep inside of her. He loved her, she was part of him and he couldn't breathe without her any more.

He put her down, making sure her legs could keep her up before he pulled back to look at her. She looked beautiful, her hair all tousled around her face and her eyes still hazy. She smiled at him. 'The neighbors will complain if you keep this up,' she said.

'Well, we'll simply have to tell them to ignore us, I guess,' he answered and kissed her hair covered forehead. He took the rinse and a sponge, applied soap and softly washed her body, after which he quickly did the same to himself. Then, he shut off the water and reached for a towel, which he gave to her. All this time, she'd been standing there, watching him work, appreciating how he was taking care of her. He stepped out of the bath and took a towel himself, and she dried herself off as he did the same. Then, she got dressed in the bathroom as he went out into the bedroom to collect his clothes. The dreaded moment was getting closer and closer: She would have to go to work at the lab, and they both knew that although the lab didn't have rules against dating FBI officers, the FBI would be less than pleased if they found out about this development. They also knew that there would be no fooling Angela or Cam, and although Booth didn't really care, he knew Temperance would. This would be the hardest part of the last twenty-four hours, and for once, he had no idea how to even begin attacking this problem.


	3. How it Scared

They didn't have a case to work on together, so Booth decided he would go to the FBI-office to see what was happening and Brennan would go to her lab. That way, they didn't have to face the music right away. Brennan had suggested keeping their relationship a secret, but Booth had made very clear that that was out of the question.

'It's better we tell them right away. Especially Sweets, because he is the one that will either help us out or destroy this before it's had a chance to prove itself.'

Brennan nodded, not liking the second option. 'I hope he is understanding of our situation.'

'Well, he was the one that thought we were in love all along, so he should be fine with it,' Booth said.

'Only we were in love all along, just not in a sexual relationship,' Brennan said.

Booth looked at her and nodded. She was right. He just hoped Sweets would see that professionally, it would change absolutely nothing.

'Look,' he said. 'Call me as soon as you've told people. I want to know what they said.'

She nodded. 'But I want to tell Sweets together,' she said. 'I don't want you to go in there alone.'

'Why, you afraid I'll kill him if he has something negative to say?' Booth laughed.

'Yes,' she simply stated. He nodded. 'All right, call me and I'll pick you up. Do you want to arrange lunch or something?'

'For Sweets? No, better to break it to him in his office.'

Booth nodded again. He was very, very nervous. What would Bones do if Sweets disapproved and took them apart as a team? He wasn't sure he could go back and he sure as hell couldn't keep their relationship a secret.

Brennan walked into the Jeffersonian lab, seeing Angela approach. 'Good morning, sweetie, how did it go with Sweets?'

'Sweets?' Brennan frowned. 'Oh right, about his book. We told him everything, he should be fine.'

Angela studied her friend closely. 'You're having sex.'

'What?' Why was it that whenever something had happened in her life, she didn't even have to tell Angela? 'Why do you say that?'

Angela laughed. 'What? No 'you're so wrong, again?' Oh my God. Tell me everything. Who is he?' Brennan laughed with her. 'Angela!'

'I need to know, sweetie. Is he hot?'

Brennan shook her head, not of denial but of disbelief. 'Angela, just let me put down my stuff, ok?'

Angela followed Brennan to her office. 'Hacker? Oh pléase don't tell me it's Hacker. Look sweetie, he's a nice guy, sure. But you can get só much better than Hacker!'

'Ange, it's not Hacker.'

Angela shook her head. 'Than who? Who did you meet that I don't know about?'

Brennan sat down on her couch, Angela right beside her.

'You know him.'

Angela frowned to herself, mentally going over every man she knew and picturing them with Brennan.

Then, it hit her.

'Oh. My. God.'

Brennan nodded. 'Yes.'

'No.'

'Yes.'

Her jaw dropped. 'Oh my God. I gotta tell Hodgins.'

'Angela!'

'Booth?' she exclaimed. 'Booth, really Booth?'

Brennan nodded. 'Booth.'

'After almost six years? Brennan! How was it?'

Brennan smiled shyly and shook her head. 'No details, ok Angela?'

'Yes details! My God, I want to know every single dirty detail you've got.'

'Oh, I've got plenty,' Brennan laughed. Angela covered her mouth with her hands. 'Brennan!'

Then she stood up and started walking out of her friends office. 'I have to tell Hodgins.'

'No Ange!' Brennan also stood and followed her friend. 'Angela, wait.'

Angela stopped and turned. 'I'm so happy for you, Brennan. We all are!'

'You don't know that. What if the FBI wants to break us up now? Please, Angela.'

'I have to tell Jack. Jack!' she called.

Hodgins leaned his head around a corner. 'What?'

'Brennan and Booth had sex last night!'

Jack disappeared, only to come walking around the wall and hug Brennan. She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him away slightly. 'Jack, please.'

'What? I'm happy for you, it was about time.'

'She's worried about the FBI, Jack,' Angela said. Jack nodded. 'Ah.'

'Just.. Don't tell anyone with connections to the FBI, ok? I'm going to tell Sweets this afternoon, together with Booth.' Jack nodded. 'That's probably smart. Hey, congratulations.' And he walked off to continue his work.

'I still want details,' Angela said. Brennan sighed. 'All right. As soon as I know what they're working on, they might need me.'

Angela took her friend by the arm. 'They don't need you, I promise. Come on.'

She lead her into her own office, closed the door and sat on the couch, eager to hear what Brennan was going to reveal.

'Angela, come on. This is Booth we're talking about.'

'So?'

'So.. How can I talk about my sexual relations with Booth when he'll be in here every day?'

Angela grinned. 'You told me about Sully.'

Brennan grinned back. 'I did, didn't I.'

Then she sighed. She could give a short summary of what had happened. Maybe Angela would be happy with that. Juicy details could be revealed later, when she had discussed this with Booth.

'You seem.. Calmer than I thought you would be,' Angela said. 'Or is that just sheer exhaustion?'

'Angela, I'm not exhausted.'

'But you are sore. I saw it in your walk,'

Brennan's eyes widened. 'You can see that?'

Angela put an arm on Brennan's knee. 'Don't worry, only if you're a sexual expert like myself. And I can tell you, I'm the only one that will notice stuff like that around here. Ignorant lot, the men around here, all wound up sexual tension but no eye for detail.'

Brennan laughed. 'All right, I hope you're right.'

'Now, spit it out,' Angela said.'

Brennan sighed. 'Ok.'

Angela almost jumped on the couch, wanting to know exactly what had happened.

'So, Booth and I told Sweets about our first case. Sweets had concluded that we were in love. I had never looked at our relationship in that way, and hearing it for the first time made me a bit.. Uncomfortable. So I denied it. Sweets then said that Booth, being the gambler, had to break the barrier between us to make us see what we are to each other.' She looked at her hands. 'Although I think Booth knew for a long time. I was the one that needed the barrier broken.'

Angela nodded. 'But that's a good thing, Brennan. He knew what was out there for you, so he could show you.'

Brennan nodded as well. 'You're right. He practically begged me to give it a shot. I almost chickened out, Ange. I was so scared. But he convinced me, and then he drove me home. I don't think he had the intention of sleeping with me.'

Angela noted how her friend had already gone from 'having sex' to 'sleeping', indicating that she really saw more in this relationship than just sex.

'Then, he almost left, and I couldn't be alone so I called him back. I wanted him to stay with me. We had the best sex I have ever had, Angela. And he said extraordinary things to me.'

'Like what?' Angela was on the edge of her seat. This was the good part.

'He told me that he would never have sex with me. He would make love to me, but never just sex. I didn't know what it meant at that time, but half an hour later, I did. And he told me something else, something I still don't really understand the meaning of but I did appreciate.'

'What?'

Brennan smiled at the memory, seeing Booth in her mind, telling her what she was about to tell Angela.

'He said: Don't ever touch me because you think I want you to. Touch me only because you want to.'

Angela made an appreciative sound. 'That's wonderful. So Booth. Brennan, you're so lucky. He'll treat you like an angel.'

Brennan chuckled. 'Angels aren't sore in the morning.'

Angela almost blushed. 'My God, what has he done to you?'

'What do you mean?' Brennan asked cautiously.

'You've gone wild, Brennan. I've never heard you talk so openly about men, it's great.'

Now it was Brennan's time to blush. 'I have gone wild, haven't I.'

Angela nodded. 'It's a good thing, Sweetie. Go with it.'

Brennan smiled at her. 'I'll try.'

'Anything else you want to share with me?' Angela said. She knew Brennan would never give her sexual details but still, she wanted all she could have.

'Actually, I discovered something quite interesting about myself,' Brennan said.

Angela jumped again. 'Sexually?'

Brennan nodded. Angela couldn't believe her ears. 'What is it?'

'I always imagined the proverbial G-spot to be something imaginary. I know anatomically it exists, I just never imagined it could actually be so different.'

'Oh my God. You only just found your G-spot last night?'

Brennan shook her head. 'I didn't, Booth did.'

Angela thought she was going to go into shock and die. 'That is so sexy.'

'I am planning on exploring it myself at a later time,' Brennan added clinically. Angela laughed. 'Good on you.'

Then, Brennan's phone rang. 'I have to take this Ange, it's Booth.' Angela nodded, stood and hugged her friend. 'I'm so happy for you, Brennan. I hope it works out, and you know where to find me if you need any advice.' Then she smiled. 'But I hear you're doing fine.' With that, she left Brennan alone. She had so much more than she'd ever thought she'd get.

'Booth, hi,' she answered the phone. It didn't really feel different, only that now she felt her heart jump a little when she heard his response. 'Hi, Bones. Listen, I just bumped into Sweets here, he tells me we actually have an appointment this afternoon. He wants to talk us through a revision of his book.'

'Ok, that sounds fine. What time?' she answered.

'Bones, maybe we need to, you know, talk to him before the appointment?' He sounded a little worried. Brennan didn't like it.

'Ok, when do you suggest we talk to him?'

She heard Booth sigh on the other end. 'Are you needed back there?'

'Not really,' Brennan answered.

'Then I'll pick you up, we can meet Sweets at the diner before the appointment I guess.'

She nodded. 'Sounds good. Oh Booth, I told Angela. Well, technically she guessed.'

'Great. How did she react?'

Brennan smiled to herself. 'You mean apart from going into mental shock and then practically screaming it off the top of the building?'

She heard Booth laugh. 'Ok, I get the point. Are you all right?'

'Yes, Booth, I'm fine.' She heard him going to protest, so she stopped him before he could say anything. 'And I'm not just saying that to put you at ease. I'm good.'

She could imagine him nodding, knowing she was telling the truth. 'Ok. I'll be there soon.'

'Bye.'

'Bye baby.'

As soon as he had hung up the phone, she missed his voice. No one had ever called her baby before. It sounded.. Condescending. And cute, and she wished he'd call her that all the time.

Half an hour later, she was sitting in her office doing some paperwork when she heard Booth approach her door. 'Hi, Booth.'

'Why is it that you always know that I'm around when you haven't even looked up?' he asked, faking irritation.

'You're hardly soundless, you know,' she shot back.

'Hey, trained sniper, I can be soundless. Just wait and see,' he said, and leaned in to kiss her over her desk. Self-consciously, she looked around quickly before kissing him back, a short, soft kiss that still sent a rush of blood racing through her body.

'So, you ready?' Booth asked, watching her closely. She clearly was trying to be comfortable in the situation but he could tell she was a bit on edge.

'Yes, let me just get this to Cam and we're ready to go.'

Booth hissed. 'Cam. Have you told her yet?'

'No, haven't seen her yet today. You want to tell her together?'

Booth cocked his head to one side. 'No, but I might want to watch you tell her.'

She frowned. 'But..'

'Just kidding,' he interrupted. 'Yes, let's tell Cam together.'

She nodded, stood from her chair and started walking. He followed her and caught her hand just as they emerged from her office. She reacted by pulling it back. 'Booth.'

He was disappointed, but he understood she needed to adjust to the situation slowly. This was all new to her. 'Come on Bones, it's just a small sign of affection.'

'Please, Booth.'

He nodded. 'Ok, I'm sorry. Won't try it again.'

She smiled at him and touched his arm briefly. 'Thank you.'

He walked just a footstep behind her all the way to Cam's office, silently admiring her beautiful shapely figure in the skirt she wore.

When Brennan entered Cam's office, he stood back a little, giving her the space she needed. Brennan however looked back at him and her eyes begged him to come closer, so he approached to stand behind her.

'Good morning Dr. Brennan,' Cam greeted her. 'I'm sorry I was running late this morning.'

'You don't work for me, dr. Saroyan, so you don't need to apologize.'

Cam nodded. 'You got something for me?'

'Yes. The paperwork on the conviction of officer Graham. It contains my notes..'

Booth interrupted her. 'Cam, we wanted to tell you something.'

Brennan looked back at him, annoyed.

Cam looked at Brennan first, then Booth. 'What is it?'

They both stayed silent, Booth waiting for Brennan to tell her and Brennan not knowing what to say. Cam looked at them again. 'What?'

Booth stepped forward to stand beside Brennan. 'Bones and I.. Well, let's say that we.. Finally.. You know, it happened.'

Cam just stood there, watching them. Brennan looked at Booth, unsure what to do. He looked back at her, shrugged his shoulders, looked back at Cam and smiled, awkwardly. 'So.. That's what we wanted to tell you. See you around.'

He turned around and just managed to pull Brennan with him on her arm, and walked out of her office.

'How did that go?' Brennan asked him. 'I am not sure,' Booth said. 'I think she's happy. Yeah, she's happy,' he concluded, and putting a hand in the small of her back, started walking towards the exit.

'Booth! Dr. Brennan!' Cam called after them. They turned around.

'I'm sorry I was so.. surprised.'

'Shocked is more like it,' Booth commented. Cam dropped her eyes. 'Ok, shocked. But I want you both to be happy. I hope you found what you were looking for, Seeley. I hope you're happy.' She smiled softly at him, then she turned to Brennan.

'You know he's a good guy. You're very lucky.' Brennan nodded at her. 'Yes, I am.' Booth's heart jumped at the sound of her voice admitting that. 'Thanks, Camille,' he said.

Cam nodded, turned around and left for her office.

Booth put his hand back on Brennan's back and she felt him caress her spine with this thumb. 'That was weird.'

Brennan looked at him. 'Why was that weird?'

He smiled down at her. 'Never mind.' She really was awkward with relationships, even more than he'd thought. It touched his heart to see her so out of place, so vulnerable, and he knew it was his job to guide her through this part. She'd act as if she knew exactly what to say and what to do, but she would have no clue at all.

'You know, when we get to Sweets, let me do the talking,' he said.

'Why?'

He opened the car door for her. 'Because I think it will take some delicacy.'

'I can be delicate.'

He grinned. 'I know.'

She swatted his arm and got in the car. 'Please.'

When he had gotten in beside her, she nodded. 'Ok, you do the talking with Sweets.'

He looked at her. 'Already going soft, are we?' he teased.

'Just you wait,' she teased back. 'I'll show you what it takes for me to get soft.'

'I think I have a pretty good idea,' he almost whispered. She blushed furiously. He smiled at her and put a hand on hers. 'Don't be ashamed. It's beautiful.' She looked at him and nodded. 'Come on, let's go.' He nodded as well and started driving.

When he pulled up at the restaurant, Brennan felt strange. She was very, very nervous at the prospect of them possibly getting separated as partners. She looked at Booth. 'Wait a minute, please.' Booth nodded. 'What's up?'

She sighed, unsure of how to say what she was feeling.

'I'm experiencing.. Anxiety. I don't know what to do.'

He tried holding her eyes, but she turned her head to look out the window before he could identify everything he saw in them.

He kept looking at her, seeing several emotions cross her face. Finally, she looked back at him. 'I don't know what I have to feel.'

'How do you mean?' He frowned a little. 'You don't háve to feel any specific way.'

'But I do. I need to make up my mind about this, or otherwise I won't be able to deal with whatever is going to happen next.'

'Bones, I need a little more than that.'

Her eyes pleaded with him to let it go but he really wanted to understand. So she tried.

'I.. I don't want us to be split up as partners, Booth. If that happens, and if it happens because of what we did then.. Then we won't be able to reverse it, you know? What happened, happened. We're different. If us being in this relationship means we won't be allowed to work together, then that's that, we'll get separated.'

He took hold of one of her hands and squeezed it softly. 'Bones, look at me. We're great together. Everyone knows that. We'll show them that we can work together, we're professionals, and like Sweets said, we've been in love for a long time.'

Brennan shook her head. Booth frowned. 'Haven't we?'

'Yes, but.. I.. I looked at it in a different way, you see. I didn't recognize it as that kind of love.'

He sighed, relieved. 'But still. It's not that different.'

Brennan shook her head and pulled her hand from his grasp. 'No, it is. Because they have a valid reason now.'

He shook his head. 'So, what are you saying? That we made a mistake, Bones? Is that it? Because we didn't, you know. What we did was the best thing ever, for everyone.'

Taking her hand again, he kissed the palm. 'The best thing, ever.'

She looked at him again, tears in her beautiful deep blue eyes.

'But if we just keep it to ourselves.. Come on, Booth, it's the best for everyone. We can tell them later, when we're.. More sure.'

'Sure of what?' he asked. 'Bones, we're not keeping this a secret.'

She thought about it for a second. 'Ok then, maybe not a secret. But why do we have to march in there to tell everyone? Let them figure it out. I mean, it has only been one night.'

He was about to argue, but he saw in her eyes that she didn't mean it that way. And she did have a point. 'Ok, we have a meeting with Sweets anyway, let him figure it out. If we just behave the way we always do, and he still figures it out, we'll tell him.'

Brennan nodded. 'Thank you.'

'I told you I'd back up a bit when you needed me to. Consider this my first backing up,' he joked. She laughed. 'Great job.'

He wanted to kiss her, badly. But he could see in her eyes that she was very vulnerable right now and he didn't know how to deal with that in their new dynamic. So he just softly squeezed her hand once more and let go. She surprised him by running her hand over his arm before releasing him, her eyes fixed on something outside the car window. He smiled to himself. She'd learn fast, she'd even learn without him actually teaching. She'd figure it all out on her own, him just being with her and subconsciously supporting her would be enough.

When they got to their meeting with Sweets, Booth tried hard not to stare at Bones. She had been nervous throughout lunch, which they had decided to take at Booths office instead of at the diner. He had been mesmerized by how her eyes would convey every thought going through her mind, and how they would occasionally look at him as if they were trying to find answers. He had tried calming her, telling her nothing was going to go wrong and everything would just play out as it was supposed to, Sweets wouldn't suspect a thing and they'd get some time to figure out what had changed between them. Although Booth knew what had changed: He had fallen even more deeply in love with Brennan than he had imagined he would be capable of. He had to admit, loosing himself in her like he had had been scary for him as well. He was the well-trained soldier, the sniper without fears. He should be capable of containing himself and his emotions, but he was having great difficulty with both. However, he couldn't really care. All he could care about was trying to aid this woman, help her get through the rough patches of the difficult, but adventurous road ahead.

He looked at her, she looked at him. They smiled softly at each other.

Right at that second, Sweets opened the door. 'Come in.'

They both startled, as if he had interrupted something intimate. He gestured them to get up. 'Come on, you'll love what I decided to do.'

They both stood, and Booth let Brennan enter the office first, sitting on her usual side of the couch, legs crossed so she was turned slightly away from her.

His eyes immediately caught her slim thigh and where it disappeared into the skirt. He cleared his throat and decided to look the other way.

'I am curious to know how your theories are going to develop now that you know everything, Dr. Sweets,' Brennan said. Her voice was strong and steady, and Booth wondered what had happened to her nerves. Then he remembered that she was a star at hiding her nerves, and he almost felt sorry. She had become such a good emotional liar that even he was almost fooled. Almost.

'Yeah Sweet, what did you decide on now? We're madly in love instead of just in love?'

Sweets shook his head. 'Look, I know neither one of you takes this seriously.'

'On the contrary,' Bones said. 'I take every author very seriously, being one myself.'

Sweets nodded. 'Right.'

'Well, what did you do?' Booth asked again.

'All right, so I decided on this,' Sweets started. 'You both have issues with relationships, right?'

Booth shook his head. 'I don't have a problem with relationships.'

'You just don't like admitting it,' Sweets said. 'But you know you do.'

Brennan shook her head as well. 'I also don't have problems,' she said.

Sweets shook his head. 'Come on, you both know you have trouble committing to something. You don't like bonding to something more than work. It's understandable, but it's a killer for relationships. Just hear me out.'

They both nodded. 'This should be good,' Booth said.

'So, here's the thing,' Sweets continued. 'You share a problem, right.'

'The bonding problem,' Booth said. He stole a glance at Brennan, who seemed very interested at what Sweets was about to say. She didn't meet his eyes, but he knew she felt him watching. He turned his attention back to Sweets.

'You said it yourself. You complete each other,' Sweets continued. 'So it would only be logical for you two to do that in other aspects of your life.'

Booths mouth dropped. 'You're so getting fired from the FBI if you publish that.'

Sweets shook his head. 'No, you're not listening. Everyone knows you're in love. Everyone but yourselves. That's the point. Did anyone ever give you any crap for that around here? No. Because they know, that love is what makes you such a great couple.'

Brennan frowned and looked at Booth. 'What is he saying?'

Booth shrugged. 'Don't know.'

'Oh please!' Sweets exclaimed. 'Do I have to draw a schematic here? You are both intelligent and great at your jobs. But together, you're fantastic. And why? Because even though you are complete opposites, you are exactly the same in so many ways that you are indeed the best match I believe to be possible.'

Booth shook his head, one question the only thing on his mind.

'So.. What if we did decide to finally let go, to try something more than co-workers, what would the FBI do?'

Sweets shrugged. 'Hey, I'm not the director, I don't know. But they'd be stupid to break you up. I don't see how they could, unless of course you are incapable of continuing work.'

He looked at them for a second. 'Are you?'

Brennan looked shocked. 'What?'

'Going to try something more?'

She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. 'Of course not.'

Sweets smiled. 'Over the years, I've learned that strong denials from you often mean something. But it's a good thing, Dr. Brennan. Please, go with your heart on this one.'

Brennan looked at Booth, sheer despair on her face. He decided to help her out.

'Hey, I like the way you've fixed the book. Already a couple in every way but the sex. That's just brilliant.'

Sweets beamed. 'Thanks.'

Booth nodded. 'Sure. Now Bones, how about we get something to eat. I'm starving.'

'Technically, we only just had lunch.. But it sounds like a good idea,' she said.

He nodded. 'You go ahead, I've got one last thing to ask the good doctor here.'

She looked at him, trying to figure out what he was going to ask. 'Ok, I'll wait outside, at the elevator,' she stated. He nodded. 'Good idea.'

When Brennan was out of sight, Booth sat back down. 'Sweets, I have to ask you something. But don't tell Bones I told you, ok?' Sweets nodded. 'OK'.

'No, look, seriously. And don't tell anyone in the Bureau, ok?'

Sweets shook his head. 'Can't promise that.'

'No, wrong answer. You promise me. Call it a favor, but you don't breathe a word of this to anyone.'

Sweets considered it for a moment, then he nodded. 'Ok. What do you need?'

Booth sighed.

'So.. Last night, after we came here? Bones and I.. Well.. Let's say we took your advice.'

'What?' Sweets looked astounded. 'Why?'

Booth sighed. 'Why? Come on, you're young, but you're not stupid.'

Sweets nodded. 'Ok, I can see why, but.. How did it go?'

Booth almost whispered. 'Great, all great, but I'm dealing with some serious fears on her side, ok? And I need you to be honest with me. What if the boss got word of this? What if they knew we were actually, you know, together?'

Sweets nodded. 'I see your point. Dr. Brennan is afraid to lose your partnership to your relationship, and if she has to choose, she'll take the partnership anytime.'

'I'm not sure she'll want the partnership without the rest, actually,' Booth explained. 'She might retreat from everything if they break us up.'

Sweets nodded. 'Ok, I see your point. I can see how that would work out, if she's convinced she'll lose you, she might do that.'

Booth nodded as well. 'So you see my problem. I can do my job and so can she, but what if we're not allowed to, no matter what everyone says? What if they just follow protocol and break us up?'

Sweets leaned in. 'I can't tell you what they'll do. I've heard of partners getting split up over less, but still. I also know how different your partnership is already and how valuable it is to everyone here.'

Booth nodded. 'Can you maybe.. You know, see what they say if you bring it up? Maybe in connection to the book or something?'

Sweets nodded. 'Good idea. I'll find out where they are on this upstairs. And I'll let you know.'

Booth's heart jumped a little. Maybe there was a way, after all. 'Thanks.'

'Anytime,' Sweets said. 'And congratulations.' Booth nodded and left the office.

Brennan was waiting for him next to the elevator, an empty bench right next to her. 'What did you ask?' she said immediately.

'I'll tell you in the car,' he said. She looked at him and saw the seriousness, so she nodded. 'Ok.'

The elevator arrived and they both got in.

The doors closed, and there they were, alone for the first time today. He put his hand in the small of her back, and at the first contact, Brennan reached her head up and kissed him softly, only touching their lips together, their lips and his hand on her back their only connection. Just before the doors opened, they broke apart, both almost shaking with the beauty of it. He kept his hand on her back, for he had done that many times before. No one looked particularly interested in them as they walked out of the building.

Once they reached the car, Brennan got in and sighed. 'It's so weird.'

He got in on the other side. 'What is?'

She looked straight at him. 'Everything is just.. Moving on.'

He tried looking confident and reassuring. 'Yeah, everything is just the same as yesterday.'

'Not everything.'

He smiled. 'No, and I'm very grateful for that.'

'Still, I expected the world to be different somehow,' Brennan said.

Booth nodded. 'I know what you mean. Our world has changed, but everyone else's is just the same.'

'Probably a good thing,' Brennan said.

'You know what, Bones? Sweets is going to try and find out what the Bureau would do if they found out.'

'What?' she almost yelled, immediately getting angry. 'You told him?'

He took her hands. 'Hey, come on. It's the best way.'

She calmed down a little. 'I'm sorry, I'm just.. I hadn't considered all these obstacles.'

He stroked her hands softly. 'No one said it would be easy, Bones.'

'But the line between friends and.. this.. It was so easy to cross that.'

He smiled at her words, really relieved she hadn't used the words 'sex' or 'lovers', because to him they sounded wrong and inadequate.

'We'll be fine with the rest as well. I'd say we're doing pretty good, actually,' he said, moving his hand to her knee. She covered his hand with hers, directing their hands to his leg. 'You have to stop touching me though,' she said. 'it's distracting and I don't like it.'

'You like it, all right,' he laughed.

Brennan glared at him. 'I am being serious. If you can't contain yourself..'

'All right, I'm sorry, I'll stop it,' he said, throwing his hands up in surrender.

She looked at him and smiled, almost a bit devilish. 'Well, not stop, exactly.. Just.. Pull back a little on the hand holding and knee touching, ok?'

He laughed out loud. 'Oh Bones. Ok, I can do that.'

She surprised him by kissing him on his cheek, really fast but very affectionate at the same time. She blushed a little and looked around, but no one had seen them. 'So, drinks?'

He nodded. 'My place or yours?'


	4. How She Surrendered

He drove them back to her place, because although she'd said it didn't matter to her, he could see she wasn't completely comfortable with the situation. He thought her own environment might give her some of her confidence back.

Brennan opened two bottles of beer, handing one to Booth and joining him on the couch. 'I hope Sweets can help us,' Booth began. She nodded. 'I reckon it will be difficult for him to ascertain the FBI's opinion on the matter because there has been no case like ours before,' she answered. He nodded. 'But they don't know, so for now we're in the clear.'

She drank in silence, until Booth saw she'd figured something out. 'Do you think we can work together like always?'

Booth looked at her. 'Yes. Do you?'

She shrugged. 'We have a different relationship now, so I wouldn't want you to be alone, but you always take me with you so I guess nothing has to change.'

He smiled. 'I never leave you alone, I'll protect you like I always do and you can protect me like you always do, only now we go home together instead of to our separate beds. I see only upsides to that.'

She leaned in for a hug and he put his arm around her. 'You'll get used to it, Bones.'

She frowned, and although he couldn't see her face he knew she was surprised that he knew she was a bit uncertain. 'What do you mean?'

'Hey, I know you're probably very scared by the prospect of sharing your house with someone, and if you don't want to do that, that's fine. I'm not expecting you to take me in or anything. I just want to be able to be with you when we have a difficult case, to be able to talk to you and sleep next to you when we're scared, because I know it would make me feel safer. And I think you'll feel the same.'

He kissed the top of her head before putting his chin back and tightening his arm around her. She sighed.

'You're right. People assume that when you're alone, you must be lonely. And at times, I was. I'd like to be able to be with you at those moments.'

'That's why I'm here. Just call me or let me know, ok?'

She nodded.

They sat like that for a long time, until dr. Brennan sat up. 'I have to get back in, it's past three already.'

Booth released her from his grip. 'Ok. Dinner on me?'

She smiled. 'Ok, but can we just get Thai? I don't feel like exposing our relationship yet.'

He laughed out loud. 'Sure.'

'I'm sorry, Booth,' She said, out of the blue. She was standing at the door, her coat already on. He looked at her. 'For what?'

She didn't know how to say what she wanted to say, and Booth saw the struggle in her eyes.

'Hey..' he approached her, wanting to comfort her, but she put out an arm to keep him at a distance. 'No, Booth.. I'm sorry.' He kept his distance, looking at her, he didn't know what to say or do so he reached for her hand. She wasn't expecting it so he caught her hand, and pulled her close. 'Don't keep everything to yourself Bones.' He kissed her temple and suddenly, she burst into tears.

'I'm sorry, I'm just.. Unfamiliar with this,' she cried onto his chest. He pulled back a little and put a finger under her chin to direct her eyes to his. 'I know. Don't say you're sorry. It's ok, tell me, I'll try to help you.'

'But you shouldn't have to, don't you see? I should be able to handle this.'

'Bones, it's not a test. Just go with your heart for once.'

She nodded. 'I'll try.' Then, she smiled softly and reached up, kissing him on his lips.

Immediately, he knew they wouldn't make it in this afternoon. He smiled into her mouth, peeking his tongue out to lick her lower lip and seeking entrance. She allowed him in, getting more hungry for him every second.

Never before had a man stirred such deep feelings inside of her. They kind of scared her, but at the same time they aroused her deeply. She could feel the heat travelling through her body, and her hands came up to tangle in his hair, keeping him to her.

Then, reason came back to her. She pulled back, looked at Booth, her eyes heavy. 'We have to go to work.'

He breathed heavily. 'No, we don't. We'll call in later to say we're coming in tomorrow. They'll understand. We're not working on a case anyway.'

His logic should present itself to her as flawed, but it didn't. She nodded and slowly approached his mouth again.

He surprised her, taking her into his arms before she could kiss him again. Walking her to her bedroom, he smiled at the state of the bed. Neither one of them had cared to straighten the sheets and blankets, and it was clear that two people had slept in it. She looked at her bed, then at him and back to the bed. 'That's not how I usually leave it.'

He smiled and kissed her in his arms. 'I don't care. I love it.'

He put her down on her bed, and she pulled off her shoes and coat. 'What are you doing?' she asked when she saw him watching.

'Watching you,' he answered plainly. He knew she liked this kind of openness, and he could see her eyes darken.

He approached her, kicking off his shoes as he went.

'Bones, do you trust me?' he asked, his voice soft. She nodded. 'You know I do.'

'Then I want you to trust me now. I'm going to show you something but you have to let me do what I want, ok? I won't do anything you don't want or are uncomfortable with.'

She smiled wickedly. 'There is nothing you can do sexually that will make me uncomfortable,' she said. His eyes widened. 'Bones.'

'I'm not joking,' she said. 'I have quite some experience.'

He shook his head. 'I'm not talking about sexual experience. I'm going to make love to your body, your entire body. This is about more than sex, Bones.'

Her expression changed into something he couldn't recognize. 'That is something I am less acquainted with.'

'I know. I want to show you, I hope I can make you feel things you've never felt before, Bones. Try and show you how much I mean everything I say to you.'

She frowned again. 'I don't know what you mean.'

'Look,' he said. 'You're the rational one. You show your feelings and emotions in a different way from others. I love that about you, because I know you so well that I can see what you're thinking and see what you're feeling. But I also think that you can let go even more. And you're scared of that. I hope that if I can show you that you can do that without getting hurt, you'll be able to deal with all of this more easily. Am I making sense, Bones?'

She nodded slowly. 'I understand, but I don't understand why you need to make such a fuss about making love to me.'

He smiled again and started unbuttoning her blouse. 'Let me show you,' he whispered in her ear. She reached her arms around her back and relaxed against him. He leaned forward and lying her down on her bed, he got up and straddled her. She looked into his eyes, both a bit scared and excited at his promise to make her let go.

'Just do what you feel like doing, Bones. But this is for you.'

She nodded and he kissed her, causing her eyes to fall closed. He smelled of so many things, all of them Booth.

His hands finished unbuttoning her shirt and he broke their kiss, sitting up and pulling her up with him. She quickly discarded of her blouse and tank top, but when she reached for the clasp of her bra, he stopped her and without words, lay her back down. He kissed her lips once, then his lips travelled down to her chin and neck.

Brennan gasped as his hot lips left a trail of burning heat on her skin. She was already quite aroused and the control of this man both interested and irritated her. She grabbed onto his hair with her hands, trying to direct him either back to her mouth or down to her breasts but he wouldn't have it.

'Booth..' she whispered, and he looked up at her.

Her eyes were misty, half with tears and half with love and need for him. He smiled lovingly and put a finger to her mouth.

'Let me, Bones. Slow and gentle, but you won't know what hit you afterwards.'

She let go of his hair and put her arms above her head. 'I go more for passionate and uninhibited myself,' she whispered, 'but in this case I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.' And her eyes fell closed and a deep sigh escaped her mouth as Booth's lips traveled down to her cleavage.

His hands stroked up her arms, still resting above her head, and then all the way down her body, along the sides of her breasts to her waist, and back up to her hands.

Her body had started to move under him, and he was becoming very aroused himself. He willed his body to calm down, this was for her. He kissed back up her neck and found her lips once more, while she eagerly kissed him back and entwined her fingers with his.

He smiled, her sexual appetite pleased him, but now was not the time for that. He wanted her to fully relax and give her entire body over to him, and he wanted to coax her into doing that instead of ask her.

'Turn around, lie on your stomach,' he whispered. She placed a final kiss on his lips and he sat up to give her room. 'Wait,' he said, and unbuttoned her pants and slid them down her legs before she turned around. He sat at her feet, admiring her shape.

When she was on her stomach, she looked back at him, a question mark on her face. 'What are you doing?'

'Nothing. Lie your head down as well,' he said, and she complied, lying on one cheek, trying to see him over her shoulder.

She shuddered at her vulnerable position. The fighter in her knew that turning your back on someone was the most dangerous thing to do. But this was Booth she was with, and mentally and physically she would trust him to have her back any time. Still, she had seen a dark desire in him that had awakened a feeling in her that she was unfamiliar with. She felt like an animal being chased by a predator, but in a good way. She decided to go with the feelings surging through her, and she closed her eyes.

As soon as Seeley saw her close her eyes, he started his assault on her body. Starting at her feet, he stroked his thumbs over the undersides of her feet. She sighed and her feet tensed, ticklish at the unknown touch. She kept her head down though, and he continued.

He kissed her thighs and up to the backside of her knees. His hands followed his mouth and when he reached her buttocks, he softly kissed each cheek. The dark silk underwear covering them was soft to his lips, and he couldn't resist biting it.

Brennan let out a soft cry, pushing her backside up towards him. His hands took the opportunity to reach around and beneath her, and then back towards her hips. She sighed at his hands almost reaching her core but leaving it untouched for the moment, she desperately needed him to touch her. He had other plans, moving his mouth to the small dimples to each side of her spine. He licked them, his hands moving up and down her sides, his fingertips stroking the sides of her breasts.

Then, he licked a wet trail of delicious fire up her spine, and she shivered. 'Booth..'

He reached her ear, and biting it softly, he asked, 'What?'

'I'm getting quite aroused,' she said clinically, but her eyes and voice told him she was indeed on the edge of losing her control.

'That's the idea,' he whispered, and bit her ear to emphasise his meaning.

She put her head back down but her ass rose off the bed again, rubbing over is already hard manhood. He groaned. 'Don't, Bones.'

She grinned. 'You're making me wait.'

'I'm not half done yet,' he said, and his hands went to her hips and softly pushed them down on the bed. 'Come on, be a sport.'

She just closed her eyes again and let him do whatever he wanted with her body. She was quite enjoying it.

His hands moved to her shoulders, softly combing through her silken strands of hair and brushing them to one side of her head.

Then, his strong hands wrapped around her shoulders and softly massaged the muscles there. She moaned loudly, it had been a long time since those muscles had even been touched by someone else but herself. Booth moved a little so he was straddling her back instead of her ass, not wanting her to have the control to drive him crazy while he was trying to do that to her.

He continued the wonderful assault on her shoulders, and when he felt her muscles relax he moved to her spine. Stroking two fingers down Each side of her spine, he kneaded the muscles there like he had her shoulders. She moaned again, as he was now touching muscles that hadn't been touched in a very, very long time.

'Booth.. Careful,' she warned him. He nodded. 'I feel it, Bones.'

The muscles were very, very tense and he wondered how she'd gone without a massage for so long. It clearly must have caused her some discomfort, but he decided he could help her with that.

'I'll be right back,' he said, and got up off the bed.

She didn't move until he was back, enjoying the wonderful attention he was giving her. Men had often expressed their admiration for her body by touching it, but none had ever really taken the time to look after her like Booth was doing right now. It showed her a kind of love and level of dedication that she was unfamiliar with, but she decided not to analyze it.

Booth came back with a bowl of water and a small towel. He didn't say anything, just bent down to kiss her cheek before he sat back down on the bed next to her. He put the bowl between his own legs, careful not to spill. He dipped the towel in the water, which she smelled he had scented with a bottle of oil she had almost forgotten she had.

The water was warm, but not too hot and it immediately helped her muscles relax.

He carefully unclasped her bra and let it fall onto the bed, but he didn't remove it. Then, he pressed the towel to her back, and he followed the same path his fingers had taken, down each side of her spine all the way to her buttocks, and then back up.

'I didn't know you could massage,' she moaned, feeling the muscles in her back relax but other muscles get tighter. He was driving her insane with his careful touches.

'You never asked,' he said. She just smiled.

He had used his trip to her bathroom to try and ease his erection, and it had helped, until he had walked back into the room. Now, he was just trying to keep it away from her, not wanting to break the spell that was between them. He felt so blessed that she was letting him care for her. It was a very important step, and he knew she probably didn't see it that way, but she might understand later on. He just wanted to make sure she'd remember it as the sweetest, most beautiful thing anyone had ever done to her.

He worked her back muscles for almost a full half hour before he was convinced she was relaxed. Brennan was fighting sleep, and when he put down the bowl on the floor and his face came close to hers she opened her eyes which had been half closed with impending sleep.

'Hey, did I put you to sleep?' he smiled.

'Almost,' she said, and the huskiness in her voice told him everything. He kissed her forehead, wiped her back dry with another towel, tossed it aside and moved over her to her other side. 'Go back to sleep, you must be tired.'

She nodded. 'I thought we were going to have sex,' she said, still facing away from him.

'Later, and I'm not finished,' he promised, and put an arm around her to spoon her into the shape of his own body.

She felt his erection press into her ass and she pushed back onto it, but he stilled her. 'Later,' he repeated. She sighed and snuggled back into him, and he knew he'd made the right choice to let her sleep first. Within a minute, her breathing had evened out and he knew she was asleep.

When she awoke, almost an hour had passed. Booth had been awake, listening to her breathing and feeling the soft rise and fall of her chest and shoulders.

She stirred and turned onto her back. 'How long was I asleep for?'

He smiled at her, she looked hazy with sleep and he knew she must have been exhausted with the day's stressful activities.

'Almost an hour. You look like you needed it.' He sat up on one elbow to look at her. She looked up into his eyes. 'I did. Thank you.'

He nodded. 'Sure. How is your back? You were quite tense.'

She sighed. 'That is one part of my body I cannot seem to keep in shape,' she commented.

'I'd be more than happy to do that on a regular basis,' Booth said.

She reached up and kissed him on his cheek. 'Thanks.'

Her bra was still unclasped and barely hanging from her shoulders, and the movement caused its straps to drop. Booth knew that they probably had time before dinner for the second half of his plan, so he indulged himself and kissed her shoulder where her bra strap had been.

She immediately wound her fingers in his hair and dropped back onto the bed. He had found out that she was a very physical person, and he'd do this her way. She looked at him, and he could see her eyes shift from clear blue to a darker shade, conveying her need for him.

She didn't say anything, and he continued kissing down her arm, taking the bra with him. He tossed it aside and kissed the tops of her fingers before putting her arm back onto the bed.

She was lying on her back now, looking up at him as if she was paralyzed. He could see her mouth curl into a smile and her chest heave to draw in a deep breath before both his hands moved to cup her breasts and his mouth found hers again in a hungry and loving kiss. 'Love me,' he whispered into her mouth. She sobbed, a mixture of pure emotion and arousal, and she could only nod into his mouth before he broke the kiss and sat up.

She could clearly see his erection, and she moved a hand to trace its contours. Booth was still wearing his pants and she unbuttoned them swiftly. She tried to sit up but he put a hand on her shoulder. He sat back on his heels and removed his pants and boxers in one movement, then moved back to her.

She felt his eyes on her like two bolts of fire. First on her eyes, then down on her breasts. Her nipples responded immediately, tightening under his eyes. Then, his eyes moved down to her panties. His hands followed, working on instinct rather than brains. Her hips bucked up in anticipation, and he quickly hooked his fingers under the rim and slid them off in one movement. 'You're beautiful,' he said, and his voice sounded different somehow. Softer, quieter. She looked at him and she saw something in his eyes he hadn't let her see before. Tears brimmed again and she sighed, willing them to go away.

'It's beautiful, Temperance. Let them come,' he whispered, and as he leaned in closer she saw tears in his eyes too. She reached for him and he moved over her, both of them completely naked now.

He kissed her eyelids, which had fallen shut, the tear on her cheek, down to her neck, he kissed along her collarbone and down her sternum. Once he had reached her breast, she didn't know what to do. He was driving her insane with this slow approach, but it was a sweet torture she was willing to go through every time for this man.

He kissed her all around and finally on one of her nipples, erecting a cry from her. She pushed her back upwards, causing her breast to push into his mouth. He licked her breast carefully and softly with his tongue, tearing soft cries from her every time he touched her nipple. Then, he moved down to her tummy and finally she felt his hands on her thighs.

She wanted him to stop teasing, so she decided to let go of one of her most primal fears.

'Booth, stop.'

He looked up at her. Her hands reached for him, and he moved up into them. 'What's wrong?'

'Nothing. I don't want to be teased anymore. Another time.' She looked down and blushed a little.

He smiled at her shyness. 'Tell me what you want and you'll have it, Bones,' he said. She smiled at him, her shyness disappearing swiftly.

'In that case, get up here, Booth,' she said, her voice slightly naughty.

He laughed and sat up, taking her with him. She locked her legs behind his strong back, and she knew he was imitating their actions from that morning. Only now, they were both sitting down on her bed, and without knowing why, she glanced at her mirror.

What she saw took her breath away. Booth followed her gaze and soon found out why she was so in awe.

The mirror, a long, full-length mirror covering one door of her closet, provided a beautiful view of them, on her bed, locked in a very intimate way. He looked at her, then back at the mirror and she felt him grow even harder under her core.

She locked eyes with him. 'Come inside me,' she invited. He didn't need any more encouragement.

He lifted her a little, positioning himself under her and slowly but steadily hugged her closer while pushing up into her. The friction was almost unbearable. They were so close, their entire bodies entwined in the most intimate of ways.

They hung onto each other while they savored the feeling for a few seconds.

Then, Brennan glanced at the mirror and what she saw caused her insides to flutter. He felt it, and started moving in very long, slow strokes. The beauty of their reflection made her feel as if she was looking at herself with the man of her dreams, and tears started falling freely onto his shoulder. He cradled her head with one hand and with the other he kept her lower back to him.

He was so deep inside of her, he wondered how he had managed to last this long. As he felt her insides get tighter, he made his strokes harder and she started moving into him.

Her entire body started shaking, pure emotion running through her, and she was freely crying out her pleasure. He loved it, and a tantrum of words moved from his mouth into her ear as he drove them to their peaks.

She came first, clamping down on him hard and sobbing and crying her amazement into him as she went limb in his arms.

He followed her, spurting into her with each shudder of her muscles, until he too was fully spent and they were sitting on her bed, connected in every way, trying to recover.

He felt her tears fall onto his skin, and he wanted to comfort her, to talk to her, to cradle her and protect her from the demons haunting her but he knew he couldn't do more than try to show her she'd be all right. So that's what he did. He let her cry and he let her clamp onto him as hard as she wanted, while he held her head and body close to him.


	5. How They Doubted

After a few minutes, she disentangled herself from him and stood from the bed. 'I'm going to shower, you can order dinner if you want,' she stated. He looked at her, slightly stunned, missing her warm body to his and amazed at her ability to switch topics. He wanted her to talk to him about these crying moments she seemed to have a lot of, but he also knew she'd probably bring them up if he only pushed lightly. Dinner was as good a time as any to start, so he decided to order the Thai they'd discussed.

He put on his boxers, trousers and shirt and walked into her living room to order Thai. He ordered quite a lot, knowing she'd be hungry and that way, they could share a comfy, lazy dinner at her coffee table. He loved sitting there with her, both relaxed while they talked about everything and nothing.

He was on his way back to the bedroom to tidy her bed a little when he heard the water running from the bathroom.

He couldn't help but steal a glance, and peeked around the corner of the door.

All he could see was her silhouette, but a smile appeared on his face. He loved this woman and he'd convince her of anything she needed convincing of. He was already so happy with what they had, and he wasn't even sure what it was yet. He closed the door to stop the warmth from slipping from the bathroom and tidied her bed.

Brennan stood in her shower, leaning back against the wall. She had no idea what was happening. Her head was racing, her insides were aching for answers and comfort but her head was trying to rationalize a way out of this. She was Temperance Brennan, and Temperance Brennan didn't do relationships. But this time, it just felt right. A gut feeling, so to speak. She snorted. 'I don't believe in my gut,' she muttered out loud.

Closing the tap, she got out and dried herself quickly. She decided to put on a more decent attire instead of the robe she'd been planning to put on, so she got her favorite jogging pants and a sweater from her cupboard and put them on over her lingerie. Removing all traces of her make up, she quickly brushed her hair and walked into the living room just as Booth accepted the delivered food.

'Smells great,' she said, 'I'm hungry.'

'I thought you might be,' Booth said. 'So I ordered quite a lot of food, we can put the rest in the freezer or just throw it away.'

She nodded and sat down on the couch, taking two boxes out of the cardboard and settling down on the couch with them. Booth joined her, sitting next to her like always. He kept a small distance between them, but she leaned back into him in no time. He smiled at her trust in him, his heart growing fonder of her every time she gave a little more of herself to him.

Then, he decided to try and talk to her.

'How do you feel about this, Bones?' he started.

She looked at him, continuing to eat her food. 'I'm fine,' she said, her standard response to a difficult question about her feelings.

'Ok, that tells me you're not, so spill it,' he tried to sound joking but he failed.

'No really, I'm fine. It's difficult for me to rely on my feelings, but I think I'm beginning to understand why it's so important to many people.'

He nodded. 'So you're ok with us.'

She leaned her head on his shoulder again. 'I've never been so.. dependent,' she said. 'I'm not used to showing my vulnerabilities to someone. It's hard to open up when you've been alone for a long time.'

He kissed her temple. 'I understand and you know what? You're doing great. Do this at your pace, Temperance. It's not nothing.'

She looked at him, her eyes full of gratitude for his understanding. He looked back, a soft look in his eyes that conveyed many messages, and she found she understood every one of them.

'When did Sweets say he'd talk to someone at the FBI?' she changed subjects.

'Don't know, as soon as he gets the chance, I guess,' Booth replied, sensing that she was having trouble with the whole FBI thing. 'But we'll be fine, Bones. They'll let us. And if they don't, I'll make them.'

'You can't do that, Booth,' Brennan answered, not meeting his eyes. He kept looking at her, searching for her eyes but she wasn't meeting them.

He sighed. 'No, I can't.' His arm tightened around her, pulling her warmth into him. 'But I sure as hell can try.'

She laughed. 'And if you do, you'll get fired and we'll be no where.'

'Well, at least we'll be allowed to do with our lives whatever the hell we want,' he joked back. She nodded. 'Exactly.'

Then, she did meet his eyes, a serious look in her eyes. 'But it won't come to that. You love your job too much, you shouldn't give it up for me.'

He didn't know what to say. He wanted to say he'd give up anything in the world for her, sure, he liked his job but only because he got to work with her so much, and no, he wouldn't want to loose his job, but only because that would mean no more working with Bones. He wanted to tell her that, but he wasn't sure she'd want to hear it. So he settled on something in between.

'They won't fire me. And if they separate us, we'll work our way back together. We can do this, we just have to show them we can be competent.'

She smiled and handed him the box with shrimp. 'You make it sound like we're in some sort of movie, where the hero has to save the heroine. I don't like movies like that. I can save myself.'

He laughed with her, taking a shrimp and putting it in his mouth. 'Oh, I know you don't need saving, I'd never dare to say that you would need saving. My life is dear to me.'

She laughed with him and leaned back onto his shoulder. He spilled some rice, the arm around her shoulders rubbed up and down her arm and then released her.

'I'm making a damn mess,' he laughed. She nodded and pulled his arm back around her shoulders. 'So am I. Leave it.'

They cleared up the mess they made, and then found they had eaten all the food. Booth made a comment on how much she'd eaten and she'd made a comment about him ordering so much food. They were both content and their hunger for food had abated, but now Brennan was having another problem: What should she do? Should she ask Booth to stay with her, or would he assume that he could? Or would he want to leave? She didn't know and Booth saw her grow quiet once they'd settled on the couch with a beer.

'What's wrong Bones?' he asked.

She didn't answer but just looked at him, taking a sip from her bottle.

He smiled. 'Can't help you if you won't tell me.'

'I know,' she replied, taking another drink.

He was sitting a few centimeters from her, and he decided to make himself more comfortable.

Turning, he put his legs over her lap and his head on the end of her couch.

He hadn't anticipated her reaction.

She stood immediately, making his legs fall off of her lap onto the floor. 'Don't,' she said, a bit louder than she'd wanted.

He sat up. 'What's wrong?'

'I'm not property, you know,' she almost yelled at him, getting more angry.

He stood and tried taking her hand but she kept her distance.

'I know, Bones, I'm sorry if I offended you,' he said, trying to calm her down. 'I won't do that again.'

She shook her head. 'It's not just this, it's everything. I don't know what to do! I told you I love you, and I don't know what else I have to do!'

He stood in front of her, looking at her, seeing the anger abate and something else creep into her eyes. Fear.

'First of all, you didn't have to tell me you love me. I knew. And you don't have to be afraid, Bones,' he said softly. She looked at him, her eyes fierce like a cat. 'I'm not afraid.'

'Yes you are. You don't know what to do and you don't know what I'm going to do and that scares you. You want to anticipate everything and in this situation, you can't weigh the odds or measure the possibilities. That's hard for a scientist like you.'

She threw her hands up in a helpless gesture. 'I guess.'

He knew this was probably his best shot to get through to her. He put his hands on her shoulders and directed her back to the couch. 'I'll tell you what will happen, ok?'

She sat down, looking at him to sit down next to her and explain.

'I'll let you make the call. If you want me to stay, I'll stay tonight. If you don't want that, I'll leave and see you at work tomorrow. You'll call the shots on breakfast, lunch and dinner, but I'm telling you now, you're not alone. I'm here to help. Talk to me if you have questions, don't feel embarrassed, I know you need evidence-'

She cut him off. 'I'm not embarrassed. I just don't know how to evaluate the situation.'

He leaned in a bit closer. 'You see, you don't have to evaluate anything. Go with the flow, see where we end up. Nothing can happen that we can't handle.'

She nodded. 'I think you are right. But I also think I would like some time alone, just to think some things over. Is that ok with you?'

He nodded, not showing any disappointment. He had anticipated she'd ask for some distance and he was ready to give it to her. 'Sure. I'll see you tomorrow?'

'Breakfast,' Brennan said. He smiled. 'Breakfast it is. I'll pick you up, usual time.'

She nodded, he stood and she followed him to the door. He put on his coat, turned around and kissed her softly. She felt the tingle all the way down to her toes, and she smiled. 'Good night, Booth.'

He smiled back. 'Sweet dreams, baby.'

Her heart jumped at his words and she watched him drive away.

As soon as she closed the door, she missed him. But she needed time by herself, time to analyze the situation and try to figure out some problems she thought might come up. She hadn't thought of the strength of her emotions when she'd calculated how this would go. The equation didn't account for her heart to want to go its own route. She'd thought she would be able to maintain a clear, uncompromised view of everything when she and Booth finally entered a more intimate relationship. It had been clear to her from the beginning that it would happen someday, so she had thought she'd have time to prepare. But truth be told, she was dumbstruck. By herself.

Booth didn't want to leave her. She'd reason her way out of this. Use logic on him in a way he would be unable to understand and therefore would have to give in to her. He didn't want her to do that but he knew she'd try. He hoped she would use her heart. That heart would guide her in the right direction, towards him, he hoped. He knew she didn't know whether she needed time, space or a combination, or neither. But he also knew she needed him, even if she didn't realize it yet. He debated calling her when he got home, but decided against it. He'd leave her for tonight, he'd know soon enough how she had spent her time. If tomorrow morning the mask was back up and the smile had disappeared from her face, he'd know he'd made a mistake by leaving her. If she smiled at him with that beautiful smile and if her eyes were open to him, he'd have the rest of his life with her. He sighed and took a shower, hoping the cold water would be able to take away his worries.

Brennan got ready for bed, her head spinning with the events of the past days. She hadn't been able to make any sense of anything, and she was afraid that ability would never come back. It had left with her common sense the second she'd let Booth in. All she could do now was hope she would be able to find a way out of the maze of thought and back to her usual self.

She smiled at herself when she saw Booth had actually made up her bed, and he'd left nothing from himself behind, knowing she would see it as offensive. He knew her too well. She got under the covers, where it still smelled of them together. And the pillow next to her smelled of Booth. She couldn't resist and changed pillows, thinking she'd probably be more able to sleep with his smell close to her.

Two hours later, she was still awake. She'd changed pillows again, and again, and she'd tossed and turned in a hundred different directions but it was no use. She had been alone for so long in this bed, but tonight, she felt alone.

Booth wasn't doing much better, but he was used to being awake. He used his time cataloguing in his head what he felt for Brennan and preparing for every situation she could possibly throw his way tomorrow. He played them all out in his head: Denial, arguments, hate, despair, confrontation, distancing, and even acceptance popped into his head. He didn't want to get his hopes up too high, so he tucked acceptance away for now.

Then, his phone rang.

He frowned. Who would be calling him at this hour? FBI, maybe. Jared? He had no idea. He sat up and picked up his mobile from the nightstand. Number withheld. 'Booth.'

'Hi, Booth.'

At first, he thought he was crazy.

'Booth?'

Then, he realized it was Bones. 'Hi Bones, you're up late,' he said, careful.

'Did I wake you?' she asked.

'No, not at all,' he reassured her.

'Then you were up late as well,' she answered. He smiled. She was fully awake, she hadn't slept yet or she wouldn't be able to be so witty. He wanted to ask what was the matter, but he settled on a more equal approach.

'What can I do for you?'

She seemed to be thinking over what she was about to say.

Then, slowly, she responded.

'I.. I wanted to ask you something. Something about what you said earlier.'

His heart jumped. All those situations he had been rehearsing fast forwarded through his head. She wasn't waiting until tomorrow. She was doing this now.

'What is it?' His voice quivered slightly and he hoped she hadn't heard it.

She'd heard his voice waver a bit and her heart fluttered involuntarily.

'Booth, you said you'd give me space and time if I needed it.'

Short silence, then his voice again. 'However much time and space you need, Bones.'

'I don't need any.'

Her response had been so fast, he'd barely caught on. 'What?'

'I don't need space, and time maybe, but not alone.'

'Oh.' He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what she meant, or how he should interpret it.

Brennan waited for more of his response, but when she didn't get any, she panicked. 'If you do need space that's ok, Booth. I'll see you tomorrow then.' She went to hang up but Booth stopped her. 'No, wait, Bones!'

She held the phone back to her ear. 'What?'

'You have to help me out here, partner. I'm not sure I'm getting your meaning here. 'Cause it sounded like you wanted me over, and I don't want to make any assumptions, but if that's the case, I'm halfway out the door already.'

She smiled. 'Now there's a sight I'd like to see.'

'Seriously, Bones, just tell me what you meant. And don't be ashamed, I told you, I'll accept anything.'

Her brain was screaming at her, don't do this, don't ask him over. Don't. You'll lose your mind to him. But the music in her heart was blocking every sound her brain tried to make. She wanted him over.

'I'd like you to come back and sleep with me again tonight.'

He wished he'd been more prepared for this. He wished he'd had an invisible voice recorder inside his head that had recorded what she'd just said. His heart stopped for a few seconds before continuing, and he was sure it had changed rhythm. It was now beating in time with Bones' heart, and it would always keep this rhythm, no matter what would happen.

'I'll be right over,' he managed, hung up the phone and grabbed a sweatshirt, his coat and carkeys and left the house.

Before he'd knocked, she had opened the door. They stood there, watching each other, for a few seconds before he moved in, closed the door and took her face in his hands. 'I love you, Temperance,' he whispered and kissed her softly. 'Let's go to bed.'

She walked towards the bedroom and he followed her closely. She started undressing, like it was a routine, but she wasn't trying to be overly sexual. So he did the same, reading her body language like she knew he would. She stopped at her panties and sleeveless shirt, pulled her bra from underneath and climbed in her bed. He left his boxers and climbed in next to her, to where she held the blankets up for him to join her. She smiled, kissed him softly again and curled onto her side facing him. He put a hand on her thigh and took her hand with his other, feeling her squeeze softly. 'I love you too,' she whispered, so quiet he'd almost missed it.

The next morning, she was quiet, but she seemed calmer than before. Something had settled within her. They ate breakfast and Booth drove her to her lab, where he told her he'd meet her for lunch. She accepted, but declined his invitation to pick her up at the lab and told him she'd meet him at the diner. He tried to kiss her goodbye but she walked away, slightly pink, and he knew she was a bit embarrassed about the changes she noticed in herself. He worried about that, but he knew she'd talk to Angela about it and if someone could help Bones on the right track, it would be Angela.

Then, when he was just arriving at the FBI, Sweets called him.

'Good morning, Sweets,' Booth said.

'Good morning agent Booth.' Nothing else.

'What can I do for you?'

Booth heard Sweets hesitate. 'I want to talk to you. About yesterday?'

Booth frowned. 'Ok, I'm just arriving now, when did you want to see me?'

'As soon as possible, please. Oh, and please come alone, Dr. Brennan doesn't need to hear this from me.'

Now he was worried. 'What? Doesn't need to hear what?'

'Just.. Get over here, I'll explain.'


	6. How He Fought

**Author's note: I'm so sorry it took me so long to update this story, I had trouble writing this and I have more stories going so I apologize. **

The next morning, she was quiet, but she seemed calmer than before. Something had settled within her. They ate breakfast and Booth drove her to her lab, where he told her he'd meet her for lunch. She accepted, but declined his invitation to pick her up at the lab and told him she'd meet him at the diner. He tried to kiss her goodbye but she walked away, slightly pink, and he knew she was a bit embarrassed about the changes she noticed in herself. He worried about that, but he knew she'd talk to Angela about it and if someone could help Bones on the right track, it would be Angela.

Then, when he was just arriving at the FBI, Sweets called him.

'Good morning, Sweets,' Booth said.

'Good morning agent Booth.' Nothing else.

'What can I do for you?'

Booth heard Sweets hesitate. 'I want to talk to you. About yesterday?'

Booth frowned. 'Ok, I'm just arriving now, when did you want to see me?'

'As soon as possible, please. Oh, and please come alone, Dr. Brennan doesn't need to hear this from me.'

Now he was worried. 'What? Doesn't need to hear what?'

'Just.. Get over here, I'll explain.'

Booth was nervous. Very nervous. He had decided not to let Bones know he was going to see Sweets, that could wait until after he'd found out what was the hurry.

'Ok, so you asked me to ask around a bit on a certain matter,' Sweets started once Booth was in his office.

'Yeah, Sweets, I know that. Cut to the chase, will you?' he answered. Sweets nodded and gestured for Booth to sit down.

'Well, I actually haven't found a rule that says you can't date Dr. Brennan if you want her to work with you. But. She can't be providing evidence in your case if you're in a relationship.'

'Right. So she can work for me, the evidence just wouldn't be admissible in court. That's great. Useless.'

Sweets nodded. 'That's kind of it. You can totally keep this a secret, though. As long as no one finds out.. I mean, you were already a couple in almost every way, no one objected, right?'

Booth nodded. 'But we don't want to keep it a secret. She has enough trouble with this the way it is, she doesn't need any more secrecy.'

'Then I suggest you talk to the boss yourself, see what he has to say,' Sweets said.

'No, no way. I'm not telling my boss. That would be what Caroline calls career suicide, bad idea.'

'Ok, in that case, just don't make out anywhere in FBI sight, you'll be fine in my opinion.'

'But Sweets.. They're gonna find out some time, some way.'

Sweets sighed. 'I know, man.'

Booth shook his head. 'You're a good profiler but you're useless. We'll figure it out. Thanks, though.'

Sweets frowned and nodded. Anytime.'

As soon as he'd left the building, Booth panicked. Majorly. What should he do? Bones would panic, sever her relationship with him and insist they go back to friends. Or worse, just partners. No way. He had to tell her though.

Suddenly, his mood changed. He barged back into the building, into Sweets' office.

'You're in no position to tell me I can't work with the woman I love,' he called. 'You have no right!'

'Agent Booth, please calm down,' Sweets said.

'I won't calm down. Who are you to tell me to calm down. I'm going to do this, no matter what. I won't lose her because she thinks our partnership is more important than anything else.'

'You're right, it's ridiculous, but there is a reason these rules exist, Booth,' Sweets tried to calm him down. 'It's a dangerous job and your relationship might compromise your work.'

Booth only got angrier. 'You damned well know it won't. I will do everything I can to protect what we have, and I always have and always will!'

Sweets didn't answer, he just looked at the angry man in front of him. He had known for a long time that these two people were truly the two parts of one object. Together, they would face difficulties, no doubt. But what they had was unique. The trust he had seen between Brennan and Booth was something he had never seen before and he hadn't believed to exist before he met this unlikely partnership, but now that he had seen it, he knew they'd go through hell for each other. For Booth, that was in his heart. For Brennan, it was in her nature as well, but she had needed Booth to conquer her heart before she had opened up. He had had the rare gift of being able to find the key into her heart and lock the door on the inside, and Sweets envied that. Not many people possessed the strength of character to win dr. Brennan.

'Ok, look. Just do your job like always, the two of you together, don't change anything. I don't think the bureau will intervene, Hacker knows what a rare couple you two are. In fact, he is sort of jealous. He'll accept it.'

Booth nodded. 'Ok, man. Ok. Thanks.'

He walked out, still angry and upset, hoping what Sweets said was true. But he couldn't find a way to tell Bones without her freaking out. She wouldn't let it show but it would upset her, he knew her too well.

Suddenly, there she was. Right in front of him.

'Booth?'

'Bones! What are you doing here?' he asked.

'Did you talk to Sweets?' she asked. Her voice didn't betray her mood, in fact, it didn't betray anything.

'Yeah, he wanted to see me.'

'What about?' she wasn't letting this drop.

'What would he want to talk to me about, Bones. I really don't know,' he said, a little bit annoyed at her act of innocence. She knew damned well.

'Sorry, Booth, you're right. I know what he wanted to talk about. What did he have to say?'

'Nothing you want to hear right now,' he blurted out.

Brennan's eyes dropped. 'Oh.'

'I'm sorry, Bones, I didn't mean to say it like that. He was.. Well, not too pessimistic, I guess. He says keep doing what we're doing at work and we'll be fine.'

Brennan moved her eyes to his. 'But?'

Booth sighed, directing her to his car and gesturing for her to get in before getting in next to her. 'But, it's against policy so we're on shaky ground.'

She nodded. 'That was to be expected.'

He looked at her, her eyes fixed on her hands. 'How do you feel about that?'

She shrugged. 'Like I said, it was to be expected.'

He put one of his hands over hers, and her eyes met his once more. 'We'll be fine, Bones. Really.'

'I wish I shared your optimism, Booth. This has too many possible failures to be comfortable for me.'

He nodded. 'I know.'

She continued to look at him, not sure what he wanted her to say.

'Look, I'll drive you home, we'll talk about this some more, if that's ok with you,' he said. She nodded. 'I have to get back to the lab but it isn't urgent, and I guess Angela will cover for me because she knows this is important to me as well.'

He smiled at her, starting to drive towards her apartment. 'It's important to you, huh.'

'Of course it is,' she said, seriously. 'I promised you we would try this and I promised you I'd let you help if I needed it, even though I don't like it I need your help now.'

'Ok, and you'll have it,' he promised.

When they entered her apartment, he closed the door behind him before gently grasping her hips from behind. She turned in his grasp and put her arms underneath his, locking her hands behind his back, burying her head in his chest. 'I can't do this, Booth.'

'Yes you can. Look at me,' he said, taking hold of her arms and pulling back a little to look into her eyes. 'You can do this, we can do this. Just trust me, we have nothing to worry about.'

This time she could control her eyes, but she felt an unnerving need to be held by him. To be protected by him.

'I don't need your protection but right now it would feel really good if you would just hold me,' she said softly. He smiled and hugged her close, burying his nose in her hair.

Her heart started to beat faster. Her body wanted more. Why, and why now? She didn't know, her body seemed to have a mind of it's own and it wanted more. It wanted love, the love she'd felt a couple of times now but never before. Slowly, she pulled back from his embrace and lifted her lips to his.

He felt the electric current of her passion hit him and he kissed her back with equal force, but then he pulled back. 'Bones..'

'No, Booth. Not right now.'

She needed this, she needed to be reassured. Not just of their success as a couple working together, but of the love he had for her. And he would never hide that from her.

The way she wanted it was different, though. It was urgent. It wasn't really his way to go but for her, he would give her as urgent as she needed. So he closed his lips over hers again, claiming them with passion. She sighed into his mouth, her tongue dancing with his for dominance.

His hands went from the small of her back up her spine to her hair, then back over her arms and down to her bottom. He softly stroked it and then squeezed softly, earning a moan and two hands grasping his shirt. He smiled into her mouth. 'Tell me if it's too fast, ok?' he said softly, not wanting to break the spell but needing to tell her. She nodded and answered. 'Never, Booth.'

And she was right, as always. She'd already unbuttoned his shirt without his knowledge, he'd been so busy with her body that he hadn't noticed. She slid it off his shoulders together with his jacket, and stroked her hands over his bare chest. She loved his naked, hairless chest, it felt so masculine and strong under her hands that it gave her an intense need for more.

He quickly followed her, unbuttoning her blouse and zipping down her skirt with his hands before removing both. She gasped at his speed, he was so skilled that one hand had undone all her blouse buttons and the other had made short work of her skirt. She smiled at him and seductively turned to walk towards his bedroom. 'No,' he said, and he grasped her arm. 'Come here.'

Her eyes went dark with need when he cleared her table of paperwork and lifted her body, only clad in underwear and high heels, onto the rim. She spread her legs for him to stand between and he accepted, his own eyes blazing fire. He loved this side of her, uninhibited and powerful, sexy and still looking to him to keep her safe.

His hands were all over her body again, at her waist, touching the soft skin of her lower abdomen and stroking up to graze the sides of her breasts. Brennan did the same, touching Booth everywhere she could. When he moved even closer, his body perfectly aligned to hers, she pushed her chest into his and threw her head back in abandon. He took the invitation to kiss from her chin down to her cleavage, and lingered there. His hands swiftly undid her bra and tossed it aside, leaving her breasts exposed for him to do with whatever he pleased. His hands cupped them, reveling in their perfect shape which made them fit in his hands like they were made for each other.

Her nipples hardened immediately and her head came back to look at him.

'God, I love you,' Booth whispered and he cast a look up to see her reaction. He found two blue eyes staring at him, sexual desire and love shining brightly in them. He had his answer, and he sought out her lips again to prove his point. She removed her heels and started pulling down his boxers, but her position didn't give her easy access. An annoyed sound made him smile, and he let her go to remove his boxers before putting one arm around her hips to lift her to him so her panties could be removed as well. She helped him and soon they were both naked. Brennan felt his erection ready at her core, and she knew she was ready as well. 'Enough, Booth,' she said, and he understood.

The table was exactly the right height for her to sit on to give Booth perfect access, but she had other plans. She got down and pressed a kiss to his chest once before turning around. His hands came around her to cup her breasts. 'You want me this way?' he confirmed, and she nodded, rolling her hips backwards onto his cock. 'Yes,' she stated.

He moved even closer, trapping her to the table with one leg between hers. She gasped and she felt a rush of heat run through her. This was the Booth she had secretly been scared by. Booth, her ferocious warrior. But now they had this new dynamic, and she trusted him completely. Even this side of him. In fact, it was this side of him that she trusted the most: A warrior would go to extraordinary lengths to save his woman, and so would Booth.

Everything she thought about made her want him even more, even harder. So she pressed back against him again, leaning over to almost lie on the table. He leaned with her and kissed her neck and down to her shoulder blades. Then, he stood and pulled her up with him, putting her hands on the table for support. He grasped her hips and bent his knees, giving him a perfect angle to enter her.

He did so slowly, not sure whether their actions had left her sore or not. She was so wet and hot that he was sure he wasn't hurting her, so after giving her a few seconds to adjust, he started to move.

The sounds she made were like little stitches to his heart, making sure it was closed airtight and never able to let her leave from it again. She encouraged him and he moved faster, she threw her head back on his shoulder and her hair felt like silk on his skin.

His hands moved from her hips to her breasts, softly kneading them. He whispered into her ear and found that he enjoyed this so much more than he ever had. He was barely hanging on to the last shred of control he had, pushing into this beautiful, loving woman faster and harder at her demand. Still, he was holding back, not wanting to hurt or scare her.

She knew it and she didn't want it. 'Don't hold back, Booth. I want you,' she whispered, turning her head a little to lean her forehead to his chin. 'I love you too.'

He lost it. His rhythm was gone. He felt a rush of desire run through him and he felt her respond in the same way. She ground back onto him and he moved within her, taking her, marking her as his one more time. She loved it, gasping and calling out to him. He took her hand and tentatively moved it to her centre, not sure how she felt about this. She didn't hesitate to touch herself, her other hand moving back to his lower back to guide him in his journey.

'Oh my God, Booth, I'm going to come,' she managed to say in between waves of pleasure. He pulled her back close to his chest and cradled her breasts, his teeth softly biting her neck. 'That's it, Bones,' he whispered to her. 'I love you.'

With that, she couldn't hold on any longer. She let go of him and herself, falling forward onto her hands, going completely silent before moaning loudly. He felt her contract tightly around him. While she was riding out her orgasm, her head turned over her shoulder to look at him. 'Come with me,' she whispered, and he strained to hear her. When he understood, his heart swelled and he came violently, thrusting into her again and again, not at all controlled. He called her name over and over again, and when he was completely spent, he leaned over her body to kiss her shoulder. 'My God.'

A few seconds later he let go of her, moved off her and collected her in his arms. 'Let go,' she laughed, but he didn't and both of them gloriously naked he moved around her apartment to get them to the bedroom. He put her down and watched how she got under the blankets, not hiding from him but hiding from the chill that had settled on her hot body. He got in next to her and sat with his back against her headboard, blankets drawn up to his waist.

'This is amazing, Bones. I'm so glad this happened.'

'Me too,' she said, lying on her side, watching him.

'C'mere,' he gestured for her to get next to him, and she sat up, pulling a t-shirt over her head to stay warm. She pulled her pillow up to lie next to him and put it half behind, half next to him so she could rest her head on her pillow and against his side. His left arm came around her head to lie on her shoulder while she put her arm on his stomach where it met with his right hand. Content, she sighed and closed her eyes. He looked down and pushed a strand of hair from her face before covering her hand with his again.

'I promise you, Bones. We have this now, I won't let it be taken away.'

She smiled and nodded into his side. 'I know you'll try. So will I. This is too precious to let go.'

'Damn right it is, Bones. Damn right.'


	7. When She Almost Backed Out

When She Almost Backed Out.

Part 1.

Then, suddenly, out of the blue, there it was. Their first case together as a couple. The phone call came a few hours after they had sex on her table. Both of them were sound asleep in her bed, limbs entangled and the one didn't know or didn't care where the other began. Then, his phone started to ring. It was still in his jeans pocket, somewhere on her living room floor. She woke up first, but she found herself caught in his embrace.

'Booth,' she whispered. 'Wake up, Booth. Your phone.'

He didn't respond much, a tiny sound and a cat-like movement of his head against hers was all.

'Booth!' she called, a lot louder. 'I'm sorry but you need to get up!'

'What?' he said, still hazy.

'I would have thought you were a light sleeper, because you were in the army,' Brennan stated.

He looked at her and carefully let go of her, a frown on his face. 'Thanks, I guess,' he answered while he got up. 'Why am I doing this anyway? I want to sleep, next to you,' he mumbled, but he got up and answered his phone anyway. 'Booth.'

A smile appeared on Brennan's lips when she heard how he shifted from his bed voice to his work voice. He saw it and winked.

'Yeah. Sure, ok. Where? Yeah, I'll do that. Bye.'

'Work?' Brennan asked carefully. Booth nodded. 'Yeah. They want you there, as well.'

As if Brennan's phone had heard him, it started ringing as well. 'Brennan.'

A short conversation followed and Booth got back in bed, embracing Brennan while she was talking to dr. Saroyan. Booth tried to distract her by kissing her neck, jawline and up to her ear but she didn't flinch. 'Yes, I'll be there. Bye,' she ended her conversation. 'You're dead,' she groaned to Booth and got out of bed. 'I need a shower and I'm doing it alone, or we'll never leave the house,' she warned. He tried his puppy-look but she wasn't having any of it. 'Put on big eyes all you want but this is work, and we said no interrupting our work, Booth. Come on.'

Three quarters of an hour later they both arrived at the crime scene.

Booth noticed Brennan taking a little distance from him, and he had asked her about it in the car. She'd brushed it off as nothing and he knew she was apprehensive about working together. She didn't think they would fail, she just knew the possibility was there that this was too complicated to get in between their partnership and not affect anything. He had reminded her that they seemed to be doing all right so far, but she wasn't convinced. 'We need to get this right,' she told him. He had nodded and said nothing more, knowing she wouldn't appreciate him trying to convince her without evidence.

Booth talked to the officer in charge while Brennan examined the body, much like always. Dr. Saroyan eyed both of them suspiciously and then turned to Brennan. 'Does the FBI know about this.. development?'

'Why do you ask?' Brennan said, not really wanting to get into this conversation.

'Well, I remember there being strict rules and I'm not saying we were good at abiding by them, but I would think you wouldn't want to risk breaking up your partnership,' she said.

Brennan just looked at her boss and friend. She didn't answer, it wasn't worth it, she decided. It was a battle that had already defeated her. She was only trying this because Booth thought it would work.

'Hey, Bones, what have you got?' he asked cheerfully, walking up to her. 'Anything so far?'

'The victim is a Caucasian female, approximately between the ages of 17 and 21,' she said. 'There is extensive damage to the skull, suggesting a blow to the head or possibly a fall.'

Booth nodded. 'So it might be an accident. Officer Jones over there said the witness who found the body said it looked like she had fallen out of that tree over there.'

'He moved the body?'

'No, apparently his dog did.'

'And you didn't tell me?' Brennan asked, slightly annoyed.

'No, he didn't do much damage, did he?' Booth had trouble keeping from smiling at her, he knew she was being difficult because she still didn't trust their partnership to work under these circumstances.

'No, but I would like to take a look at his canines to eliminate the possible damage from the damage that caused the victims death.'

'Sure,' Booth said. 'I'll tell the owner.'

Brennan nodded. 'Let's get this to the Jeffersonian and I'll get Hodgins over here to get a look at the tree, see if he can find evidence our victim was in the tree. In the meantime I can collect trace for him to compare to his samples.'

'Sounds like a plan, let's go,' Booth said, and for the first time since that morning, Brennan met his eyes. She smiled and he smiled back. 'I told you this would work,' he told her through his eyes.

'Booth.. This isn't evidence. We've barely done anything together on this case. It's the interrogations I'm worried about, the interviews, chasing down suspects, not this, simple preliminary investigations.'

'I know,' Booth answered, 'but it's a good place to start.'

Brennan sighed. 'Ok. You know what? I'm not making any decisions until we see how this works out in a real homicide investigation.'

Booth frowned and approached her, making sure they were well out of earshot from the other officers on site.

'What? No, Bones, come on. Don't back out of this right now. Don't do it, Bones.'

'I have to, I can't trust that this will work based on one case that's probably an accident anyway,' she answered, keeping her voice down as well.

He put a hand on her shoulder and he was relieved when she didn't pull away.

'Hey. Come on, Bones, work with me here. You told me you were going to fight for this and so am I. You can't just back out like that. You can't just quit on me.'

She looked at him, her eyes pleading with him to give her more time and space.

'I'm trying, but even Cam says we shouldn't be together.'

'What did Cam say? She has very little right to judge us, don't you think?'

Brennan smiled. 'You are correct, she is in a very poor position to pass judgement over our situation.'

'Look, Bones. Cam knows we're a great team. Cam knows we're serious with this. She'll be fine with it. It might take some time but she'll be fine with it and so will the FBI. We made them nervous, that's all. But we made you nervous as well. So you know how they feel, they'll get over it, they just need time, just like you. And they'll get it.'

Brennan nodded. 'Ok.'

'Ok? Ok. Glad you believe me.'

'I hope you are not saying this to make me feel better but because you actually believe it as well, Booth.'

'I do. I believe this will work and I believe it's the right thing to do.'

'Then I'm willing to float with that,' Brennan said.

'Roll with it, Bones. You're willing to roll with it.' He leaned a little closer. 'I love you,' he whispered softly. She smiled. 'I know.'

He straightened and started walking back to the car. 'Good, because even though I'm not going to stop telling you, you should know it by now.'

She followed him. 'Same goes for you, agent Booth.'

They didn't care who heard them because no one would understand what they were talking about. Brennan felt a rush go through her body. This felt good. It felt safe, warm and comforting. And that was the problem. There was good, and then there was too good to be true. This was on the verge of too good to be true and Brennan had visited that verge a few too many times. So even though she felt good, and she felt safe, she was at that point in her life once again: That point where she knew she could either save herself a lot of pain and trouble now, or bear the consequences later. She had always opted for the first, but now she felt guilty to make that decision by herself.

'Booth, can we talk?' she asked softly, once they were in the car.

'Sure Bones,' he answered, 'What's on your mind?'

His mood was light-hearted and relaxed and she felt bad for spoiling it but she needed to talk about this.

'I.. I just.. This is just too much, Booth. It's too much. I can't handle it, I won't be able to..'

He cut her off. 'Hey. Stop. You just said you were willing to trust me on this, willing to try it, and now you're saying you can't do it? Why, Bones?'

She sighed. 'Because it's too perfect! Nothing is so perfect as this, it's not logical. There has to be bad in order for good to exist. That's the natural order of things, one can't exist without the other..' Again, he cut her off.

'Exactly, one can't live without the other. Bones, we belong together like this and nothing is wrong with that. Nothing is going to go wrong with that.'

'Booth, stop. Listen to me. I'm going to tell you what's really on my mind and you're going to let me, you're going to listen and not interrupt. Do you understand?'

He nodded, stunned by the stern but shaky, aggressive but soft tone of voice. 'Yeah.'

'Ok. This is what's really on my mind. You know there have been.. People, in my life. Men, mostly, my parents as well. They all promised me love, Booth. And I didn't believe it, but still, they promised me. So deep down I decided because they promised me, it must be true. But they all left. All of them. They abandoned me and every time hurts so much, Booth. I try to tell myself it's not that bad, that it's just natural but it kills me. And it made me cautious. I protect myself from that pain. I keep things casual, I keep a distance. So it won't hurt so much. But you..'

She threw her hands in the air, a helpless gesture and he felt tears well up in his eyes. For the first time since they had gotten in the car he dared to look at her. Her eyes were glistering wet as well, a tear rolling down her cheek.

'You convinced me. You really did, and now I'm so scared. What if you are the same. I know you don't want to be, and it doesn't have to be intentional. It can be my fault in the end. But what if you're the same and you leave me and I'll be alone again, Booth. Only this time it won't just be pain. It will be the death of a part of me because you are that part.'

She met his eyes and a sob broke from her. 'I don't want to lose you. Not ever. And the chances of us being together for the rest of our lives are just not in our favour.'

He couldn't see her like this anymore. He put an arm around her shoulders, not caring if anyone still at the scene saw them, and pulled her towards him. She sobbed again and her hands gripped his coat. He held her head to his chest protectively, trying to calm her and desperately thinking about what he could say to ease her pain.

'Bones, baby.. I understand, I really do. I know how much it hurt you. All of it. And you're so strong, Bones. So strong to have survived it all and still be able to give me what you have. You're doing great, Bones. And you have to believe me. I'm committed to this. The only reason I haven't asked you to marry me is because I know you don't want that. But I'm really staying. For as long as you'll have me.'

She was silent, taking in his words and wanting to believe them. He was right, she didn't want marriage. She'd given a number of reasons why, but really she didn't want a man to be stuck in matrimony with her if there was any possibility of it trapping them. And that possibility would always exist. So no marriage for Brennan. But this man.. Damn.

Finally, she found her voice.

'I'm sorry for being so difficult.'

He shook his head, his hand stroking through her hair. 'No, Bones. Don't be sorry. You have every right to be. And I'll never stop you from being as difficult as you have to be. You have to ask these things. You have to be sure, and I want you to be sure. I know it's tough to just trust but you can do it. Really. We can work out our personal problems when we're together, and we can deal with our professional issues, if they exist at all, at work. And a time will come when you're so happy you did this..'

This time, she interrupted him. 'I'm already happy, but that's the problem.'

She pulled back and straightened her coat, wiping her face and looking at him. He nodded. 'But don't you see, you have a right to be happy just like everyone else. It doesn't always have to end bad, Bones. It won't, not this time. You can trust me, you can trust us.'

She nodded. 'I know. I just need time. Thanks for standing by me, Booth.'

He smiled at her and covered one hand with his. 'Come on, did you really think I wouldn't? Did you really think I'd let you talk yourself out of this? You deserve better, and I pray to God I can be the person to make you happy, that I'm the one that can give you what you want and need but I know that we'll be fine. We'll be happy, Bones. I really think that.'

'Booth..' she started and another tear rolled down slowly to her chin. 'You are good enough for me, you know that right?'

He nodded. 'Yeah, I know.'

'Don't ever think your intelligence or masculinity isn't enough for me. Not many people are as smart as I am, but I find your intelligence challenging in a way that I've never been challenged before. And it's fun, to be honest,' she admitted, a smile forming through her tears. He smiled with her. 'Thanks, I guess. I find your intelligence fun as well, Bones.'

'And hot,' she whispered.

'You find me hot?'

She looked at him, her eyes suddenly daring and clear blue. 'I find your lack of scientific knowledge hot.'

He matched her teasing with his own. 'And I find your science babble and mathematics hot. So hot. The way your eyes squint when you're calculating something, the way your mouth moves slightly and your brain works its ass off to come to an answer, it's so hot.'

She smiled her sexy half way smile at him and his insides melted.

'So you think my brain is hot.'

'Hot as hell, Bones.'

**Author's Note: So it's 00:53 here and I'm supposed to be asleep but I wanted to finish this so badly. So here it is. It's not done yet, I have a few more chapters coming even though they need to be written first. Hope you liked it and thanks to everyone who read and reviewed! **


	8. Proving a Point

**Author's note: This one has a little drama, a lot of conversation, some sweetness and some sex**** talk. A little bit of everything, so to say That's the reason it's a bit long. To keep everyone happy, I hope.**

Proving A Point..

They drove back to the Jeffersonian where Brennan would continue her examination of the body. Booth expected it to be an accident but everyone wanted to be certain so Brennan would perform a complete examination, together with Cam, to make sure there were no lose ends or doubts as to the COD.

Together with the witness Booth managed to find the case was airtight: Accidental death, no need for interrogations and further investigations. Booth was happy with the matter but Brennan seemed disappointed.

'What's wrong, Bones? Wanted some excitement?' Booth asked when he walked into her office to collect her findings.

'Not excitement, Booth. Evidence,' she answered.

'But we got the evidence. Accident, everything points to it!' He didn't understand her.

'I didn't mean in the case. I meant I wanted evidence to support your theory that we, as a team, haven't changed. And we didn't get a chance to prove it today. I want that to happen as soon as possible, and I want to see some evidence of what you've been trying to convince me of. Me and the FBI.'

'Oh, all right, I understand, Booth nodded, seeing her point. 'You wanted a suspect to interview, to see if we were as good as before. Or some difficult evidence to process with me looking over your shoulder to see if you were as good as before. But you are, Bones. You'll maybe even be better because you trust me more and I trust you more. And we know each other even better than before.'

Brennan nodded. 'That may be true, but I would still feel a lot better if we could prove that.'

'We'll get our chance,' he said, looking around to see if anyone was looking. When he saw they were alone, he took her hand and squeezed softly before releasing it. He had wanted to kiss her but she'd probably freak out and kill him, so he decided on something smaller but more intimate, in his opinion. She seemed to appreciate it, her cheeks turned slightly red and a devilish look appeared on her face. 'We better get our chance,' she whispered, 'or else I'm going to create one.'

'Is that a threat?' he whispered back, leaning in but not touching her.

'It is,' she simply answered, handed him the file and walked out of her office. He was left standing there, file in his hand, big smile on his face and his insides raging to go after her and make love to her on the lab platform.

Something didn't sit right with Bones though. She was really worried about the whole partners-in-relationship-thing. Nothing had really prepared her for this, she hadn't expected it all to happen so fast. She had thought she'd have time, time to figure out what was going to happen. But instead she and Booth dove right into the serious stuff, and although she didn't think it felt wrong, it was unsettling. She felt as if she was in a rowboat, on choppy water, trying to get across. But there were so many dangers along the way that it was impossible to see, much less avoid all of them. One side of her wanted to trust Booth with her safety. Another side wanted to take control, get out of the boat and find steady ground with her feet to walk in whatever direction she wanted, but she couldn't decide which road to take. So she went with it, looking to Booth to find the right direction. Up until now, he had found his way, but she knew there were still some unknowns for them to conquer before they could live together without worries.

For one, there was Parker. How would he react to them being together? Booth hadn't mentioned him in the context of a relationship yet, but she knew he thought about it. Was it a good or a bad sign that he hadn't talked about it?

Then there was marriage. Booth wanted a wife and children. She could settle for children, but marriage, that was another matter. She saw no need whatsoever to marry Booth, no matter how much she loved him, but she knew Booth needed that kind of stability. She wondered if she would ever be able to let go of her principles on the matter.

Another thing that worried her was their jobs. She loved her job, he loved his. Both were dangerous as long as they kept working together. If they ended their partnership for whatever reason, both would probably be safer: She would spend more time in the lab, while he wouldn't risk his life as much as he did now because he wouldn't have to save her all the time. She hated thinking about it like that, her being the one needing saving, but sometimes that was just reality. She was a woman and he was a man, she was the weaker in terms of strength and she accepted that. But still she should have her wits and instincts to help her avoid life-or-death-situations, but she simply wasn't trained to do it. So the only reason she was still alive and kicking at this job was because of Booth. She loved it, she would never want their partnership to break up, but still, he would be safer if they did continue to work separately.

'Sweetie, are you ok?'

Brennan jumped at hearing Angela's voice behind her.

'Someone's on edge. Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up.'

Brennan shook her head. 'It's ok, Ange. I was just thinking.'

'About Booth?' the artist asked, a grin on her face.

'Yes. But not in a sexual way.'

'Oh come on!' Angela squeaked. 'How can you not think about Booth in a sexual way?'

'I mean, at this moment I'm not thinking about Booth in relation to sexual activity,' Brennan clarified.

Angela rolled her eyes. 'All right. What's up? If you need to talk about something you know where to find me, right?'

'Yes, Angela, and thank you. I think I might need to talk to you about some matters I can't seem to resolve on my own.'

'Can't you discuss them with Booth?'

Brennan sighed. 'I'm scared he'll run, Ange. It's pretty stupid stuff.'

'Don't worry, Bren,' Angela said. 'I think you're better off talking to Booth. He'll understand you, I promise. Just tell him what's on your mind. Don't be scared, you'll feel so much better once you're done talking to him. He won't let you down.'

Angela took Brennan's hand and sat down on a bench along the platform.

'It's all about being honest with each other, sweetie. I know you're scared and you have questions. I might even be able to answer them but you know what, the only one who really knows how to help is Booth, because he understands what's going on. I can try but believe me, you want to talk to Booth.'

Brennan nodded. 'I see. I'll try. But it's serious, Ange. It's stuff I've never thought about before.'

'Tell him that too. He'll love you so much for trying, Temperance.'

'All right. Thanks, Ange.'

Angela hugged her best friend. 'Anytime. You know where to find me, and please, if something goes wrong or you feel you have to talk to me about what he said, come find me and we'll have a girl's night in.'

'Ok, I will. Thanks again.'

Angela just nodded and watched Brennan stand and leave. She was very proud of Temperance Brennan, the woman who people thought had a heart of ice. Instead, Temperance had proven to possess a heart of fire, buried inside a cave of rocks created by all the people who had left and disappointed her over the years. Angela had managed to dig her way in, and so had Booth. She hoped that now that Booth had managed to reach the core of Brennan's heart, someone would cause a cave-in to trap him inside forever. In fact, she had no doubt that would happen. It might just take some time for Booth to break those final barriers, the ones that had been up for a long time and had forgotten what it felt like to break down.

Brennan walked back to her office where she hoped Booth would still be.

He was and he smiled at her when she walked in. 'So, what do you say we grab early lunch?'

'You know what? I'm not hungry. Let's go by my place for a little while, I need to pick something up and I need to talk to you about some things.'

'You ok Bones?' Boot asked, immediately concerned. She nodded. 'Yeah, fine, it's nothing like that. I just.. I have some things I want to talk about.'

He nodded and headed for the exit. 'Ok. But take it easy, ok? We can handle it.'

'I know. I have a meeting later this afternoon so I won't have too much time but I feel like it's important to get it out there, so to speak.'

They drove to her place and once they were inside, Brennan really didn't know how to start.

They settled on her couch together, and Booth gestured for Brennan to get closer. She put her head on his shoulder and his arm sneaked around her shoulders, softly stroking up and down her upper right arm.

'It's ok, just.. Just tell me what's on your mind, Bones.'

She nodded but didn't start to talk, because she still didn't know how to start. What did she want to talk about the most? She didn't know, so she decided to start wherever her mind wanted. This was something new, so she just started talking to see where it would lead her.

'I'm not very good at this, but I don't know where to start so I'm going to find out when you are.'

He looked at her with a question mark on his face, but it disappeared when he saw her frown and realized she was going to just start talking to him without knowing what she'd be talking about. He loved it.

He encouraged her by softly rubbing his cheek alongside her head and she sighed.

'All right. Do you think splitting up as partners would be better for us? Our relationship, I mean?'

'What? No, why?'

'Booth, it's logical, really. I've thought about it. If we work separately, we're both in less danger. You won't have to risk your life with me in the field and I won't be in the field in the first place, so it's a lot safer.'

'But I love working with you, in the field, too much to just throw it out like that, Bones. You know that! It's the team that makes this worthwhile. The team, Bones. Us.'

'I feel the same, Booth. But still, it's only logical for us to split up as partners now that we are in a relationship.'

'No, Bones. No. It's not. When did you think this through? It's not logical at all. We love our jobs because we're together and you want to walk away? Split up? Just like that? No way. I'm not doing it.'

Brennan stayed quiet and Booth pulled back a little to look at her.

She had her eyes closed and she looked content. That's when it hit Booth. She wanted confirmation that they were doing the right thing. She wanted him to tell her that staying partners was the only way to go. And it was. And he did, he told her. 'Bones. Listen to me. We're partners, we were partners long before we were anything else, even friends. That's great, I love that. And it's important. We're not walking away from this. We both love doing our jobs and we love doing them together, and it works. Too bad if you're in more danger than you are in the lab, too bad that I want to take a bullet for you every once in a while. It's worth it. All of it.'

She nodded into his chest, still not opening her eyes. 'Ok.'

'Something else on your mind?'

She nodded again. 'Whole lot more, but it's ok.'

He leaned his head back. 'No, it's not, you can tell me. Come on, Bones. Was this the easy one or the hard one?'

'I don't know what you mean.'

'You know, did you give me the good news first or the bad news?'

'It's not news, but the good, I guess.'

'Ouch,' he said. 'I like to get the bad news first.'

'It's illogical for one to think that the good news will alleviate the pain from the bad news,' Brennan answered. Booth smiled.

'Ok, I'm beat,' he said. 'But you can always talk to me, you know that, right.'

She made a sound that sounded to Booth like a confirmation, and he squeezed her shoulder. 'Good.'

They stayed like that for a little while, then Brennan found it best to talk to him about what bothered her most, because she couldn't stop thinking about it and it would most likely stay on her mind throughout the meeting this afternoon, and she didn't need another distraction.

'I can't marry you, Booth. I'm sorry.'

Her voice was soft and Booth barely heard her, but he understood her perfectly.

'I know, Bones. It's ok. I won't say I don't want it because I do. But I know your principles and I respect them. We can be together without marriage, I'll get over it. And if you ever change your mind, tell me, but if you never do, that's ok. I'm just sorry I can't give you that.'

She sat up straight next to him, facing him. Her blue eyes looked at him and he was mesmerized by them. This really bothered her, he could see the struggle inside her soul.

'It's not that I don't want any of that, Booth,' she started. She wanted to get this out of the way, now, and she hoped he wouldn't interrupt.

He didn't.

'I always did appreciate the romanticism of it. But it's not something I feel has value. However, if this works and we're committed to stay together for the rest of our lives, maybe I would like you to ask me. But not too soon. I'll let you know when that time comes.'

Booth's smile spread slowly over his features, until it covered his entire face. Brennan loved that smile, the one in which his eyebrows moved towards each other and his eyes looked as if he was the happiest man on the planet. She loved it.

'So you're saying.. That time will come, Bones?' He wanted to tell her she didn't have to do it for him, but he didn't. She knew that by now. She should, at least.

'Yes, that's what I'm saying. Don't hump the gun, I'll let you know.'

'Jump the gun, Bones. You mean jump the gun,' he smiled at her and she smiled back, not acknowledging his correction nor making any efforts to hide her happiness. It was almost like an engagement, and it felt so good. She had just admitted that she saw them in a future together, and that she would marry him, she just couldn't yet. She'd not only made him even happier than he was, she'd also made herself happy. Proud and happy. She could do this, and it was fun.

Her meeting went well, as usual, and she told Booth she was having dinner with Angela. It still had to be arranged but she knew it would be fun and useful to get her inside opinions on everything. Booth agreed and didn't push her, but when Brennan asked him if she could come over later that night, he couldn't say no. Of course she could come over after dinner.

Angela agreed to dinner and they met at Angela's favourite restaurant, getting a table at the back. Brennan could see Angela was up to something, she deliberately put them in the most quiet spot in the restaurant.

'What's wrong, Angela?'

Angela smirked. 'Nothing is wrong. You're going to spend the evening telling me about Booth.'

'What am I going to tell you about Booth? You know him almost as well as I.'

Then she realized there was one area she knew Booth a whole lot better than Angela. 'Oh.'

'Yes, oh. You're going to tell me about that, sweetie. Come on, I need to hear.'

'Ok. Angela, I'm not ashamed of talking about sex, you know that. And I'm sure Booth wouldn't mind me praising his physique.'

'I'm sure he wouldn't,' Angela smiled. This was working out exactly how she'd hoped.

'So, can I assume that our beloved cop keeps you happy at night?'

'You don't waste any time, do you Ange. You're right, actually he keeps me more than happy. Sex is such an unpredictable thing, don't you think?'

Angela frowned. 'Nothing unpredictable about sex, Bren.'

'You're wrong, Angela. Sex is very unpredictable. You know I've always enjoyed it, but with Booth.. It's just different. It wasn't as I imagined.'

'Not as good or better as you imagined?' Angela asked, already on the edge of her seat. She loved this.

'So much better! And I think the fact that I trust Booth with my life adds up to the excitement. I mean, he has a really dark side, and it turns me on.'

Angela smiled broadly. 'I bet it does. But I bet he's really sweet as well.'

Brennan nodded, feeling a warmth spread through her body. Not embarrassment, just warmth.

'Oh yes. I told you about our first time. He's still like that. Last time, I needed it hard, and..'

'Sweetie! We're in a public place,' Angela squeaked, loving her friend for being so open and not one to get ashamed, but still, they needed to consider the others dining at the restaurant.

'I'm sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?' Brennan asked.

'No way, please continue, but there is a reason I picked this table. If you keep your voice down no one will ever know what we're talking about.'

'Ok. Like I was saying.. I needed it hard and still he wanted to make sure I was fine with it. Because he can be an animal, Ange. He has extraordinary muscle strength in.. Well, basically every part of his body.'

'That is so hot..' Angela said. 'So, did you do some 'exploring' of your own yet?'

'Exploring? Oh, you're referring to my G-spot,' Brennan stated.

'Yeah, that's what I'm referring too, Temperance,' Angela grinned. She found Brennan's uninhibited sex talk to be very refreshing and exciting at the same time.

'I haven't had a chance to continue on that specific subject, actually. Maybe later tonight I will. If Booth is comfortable with it.'

'Oh, I'm sure he's not a watch-but-don't-touch-man. Might be fun to see him struggle, Brennan,' Angela whispered, getting all kinds of ideas.

'I see how that might work out,' Brennan nodded. 'I might just try that tactic.'

'Who knows what will come from it,' Angela said. 'Might turn out to be the hottest thing you've ever done.'

'I have never touched myself while a man watched me, actually,' she admitted. Angela nodded. 'I think I know why. It's a trust issue, Bren. I never did it before I was with Jack either.'

'You didn't?' Brennan asked incredulously. 'Never,' Angela answered. 'Because you know, it takes a huge amount of self-confidence and trust in the other person to just expose yourself like that. It's so much different from making love with someone.'

'I think I want to try it, though. I think I would find it quite stimulating,' Brennan said. 'And I trust Booth with everything, so if there is ever going to be an opportunity for me to do it it's now.'

'You're right, sweetie. He'll probably find it very hot and I'd love to see that little night work out. Please, please tell me you'll let me hear how it was afterwards.'

Brennan nodded. 'I think I can do that. Just don't tell Hodgins or someone else, ok?' she grinned. 'Because Booth has the means and then the motive to hunt you down and kill you.'

'Me? Why not you? You're the one divulging your bedroom secrets to me, sweetie,' Angela laughed.

'He'd never hurt me, even if I hit him flat in the face he'll only say 'what was that for?'

'You hit him?' Angela laughed harder. 'My God!'

'Not in recent history, but I hit him, yes,' Brennan said, making Angela laugh harder. 'But it was just to prove a point.'

'I'm sure,' Angela said. 'But honey, I know he would never hurt you. You know that too, right?'

Suddenly serious, Brennan frowned. 'I just said that, didn't I?'

'I mean both physically and mentally, Bren. He will not hurt you. Ever. Not intentionally, and if he does in unintentionally I think you have to let him know. Because he will not have meant it. Ever.'

Brennan nodded. 'I think you are right.'

'Good, sweetie. If you ever need to talk about something between you two that you feel you can't take up with Booth, come to me, ok? I'm not watching you throw away what you have because you think you can't talk to anyone, Bren.'

Brennan looked at Angela, thankful to have such an understanding, fun best friend to turn to for a relaxing night out or a serious conversation. 'Thanks, Ange. I'm.. Very lucky to have both you and Booth in my life.'

'You better believe it,' Angela winked.

They ate dinner while chatting about each other's lives, and way too soon, it was late and the restaurant was completely empty. They decided to head home as well, and Angela kissed her friend goodbye on the cheek. 'Have a good night, honey,' she said. 'I will, thanks. And Ange, thanks again for being such a good friend.'

Angela smiled and nodded. 'You too, sweetie. See you tomorrow?'

Brennan nodded. 'Yes, you'll see us tomorrow.' As she walked away, she missed the look of utter adoration and love on Angela's face. Little did she know of the happiness her new relationship with Booth caused Angela. In fact, Angela had never been so happy to see a friend date another friend. Because she had known, ever since she'd seen the two of them together, that this was meant to be.

**Author's Note: ****Credit to ER for the 'in a rowboat, on choppy water'-metaphor. I'm a Luka-Abby fan till the end. Too bad that show is over. And I couldn't resist using 'humping the gun' because it's just the thing that cracks me up all the time since the 6x16 episode aired.**


	9. Exploration

**Author's Note: This is so smutty it's almost wrong. An entire M-rated chapter, so forgive me if you wanted to read something with a plot. I don't know what happened**** except for not having an internet connection all week. Hope you enjoy it though.**

Exploration.

After Temperance and Angela said goodbye, Temperance called Booth. He was fast to pick up the phone. 'Hey, Bones.'

'Hey. I was wondering.. Is it ok if I come over?'

'Sure, I already have beer waiting for you in the fridge. Where are you? Should I come pick you up?'

'No, I have my own car, thanks. I'll be there in a few minutes, I'm not far.'

'Ok, see you then. Just use your key, ok?'

'Ok. Bye,' she said before breaking the connection. She was quite excited by the conversation she'd had with Angela, and she couldn't wait to find out what Booth thought of it. She wanted to ask him but on the other hand she could see how it was a little early for sexual requests. Still, she didn't see why she shouldn't at least ask. He could always say no.

She was indeed at Booth's place in less than five minutes. She used the key she had and smiled when she found him on his couch, waiting for her with a beer.

'Did you have a fun evening?' he asked.

'Yes, it was quite enjoyable,' she answered. He smiled at her. 'You talked about me, didn't you.'

Her eyes grew big. 'How did you know?'

'Come on, Bones, it's not unknown that Angela likes talking about.. You know, and then here you are, with a few stories to share and not at all inhibited by any form of shame when it comes to talking about… You know.'

'Sex,' she said simply. 'You're right, I'm not ashamed to talk about sex. Especially good sex.'

'That's what making love is, Bones. Great sex. And something more.' He handed her the beer and she sat down next to him after she'd put away her coat and kicked off her high heels.

'I know. It's a new experience for me and I find I enjoy it more than I thought I would. I mean, I see what the difference is now. I see why people want to experience it.'

Booth couldn't stop looking at her. Seeing her like this, just admitting that they were good together, that she felt good with him, was so precious to him. He wanted to tell her but he wasn't sure how to, so he just smiled at her. She smiled back.

'There is something I want to ask you, Booth,' Brennan said after sitting in silence for a few minutes.

'After everything you asked me this afternoon? I can handle anything. Shoot.'

Brennan frowned. 'I'm sorry if this afternoon made you uncomfortable.'

'Not at all, I'm just really very glad you let me in. It felt good to see you talk about what was really going on in your head.'

'It felt good too. But that wasn't what I wanted to talk about.'

'All right, tell me, what is going on? What did Angela say? '

Brennan sighed. 'I need to ask a favor. A… Sexual favor, so to speak.'

Booth laughed and took her hand. 'Anything, Bones. Absolutely anything.'

'I wouldn't be so sure if I was you,' she joked. 'But fine, I'll just ask you now and you can reconsider later.'

He released her hand and took another sip of his beer. 'Exactly.'

'I wanted to ask you if you would maybe help me understand my body better.'

'Bones, I hardly think you need help in that department,' he said, getting a bit uncomfortable. It wasn't that sex made him uncomfortable, it was just the way she could talk about it without batting an eyelid.

'You're right, but you found my G-spot and I want to explore the options.'

'Explore the options,' he repeated. 'Sure, what do you have in mind? On second thought, don't tell me. I'll see.'

She nodded. 'So you'll do it? I won't ask you to do something you're not comfortable with. And you can always say no.'

'Ok.. What is it exactly you want me to do?' Booth asked, getting slightly nervous.

'Observe, please. And assist. That's all, really. But if you're not comfortable watching..'

'No, no. I'm comfortable watching, Bones. Of course. Yes. Ok. Sure, let's do it.'

She took his hand now and shifted closer to rest her forehead on his cheek. 'Please let me know if you're uncomfortable because I would never want that to come between us right now.'

He caressed her cheek and turned his head to kiss her softly.

'I'll just tell you then. Watching a woman touch herself is one of the hottest things in the world. It is. And I love it. So please, Bones, don't be embarrassed, let's do this.'

Then, she found out she was actually a bit embarrassed. What if this changed his perspective on her? His opinion of her, of her body? She knew it was ridiculous but still, she knew exactly what Angela meant. You needed a lot of trust in yourself and the other person to do this. And even though she trusted Booth with her life, she wasn't sure if she trusted herself with her life. She thought for a second, decided Booth was still there for her if she wanted to stop and he wouldn't ever think less of her.

'Ok, let's do this,' she repeated him and found her way back to his lips.

Booth's mind was already racing with visions of Bones touching herself, completely naked, finding her way to orgasm without his help, but with his eyes as witnesses, and he was going crazy with desire. Her lips on his weren't making it easier. She kissed him softly, but deeply and he felt her desire run through her to him. His hands ran up her torso to her face, softly cupping them and stroking her cheeks. She sat up to straddle him and her hands made short work of his casual t-shirt. Underneath he was naked and he protested. 'Hey, this is not how this works! I'm not the one supposed to end up naked.'

'But it works for me,' Brennan whispered into his mouth, and Booth groaned. 'You… woman… You'll kill me.'

'I've heard you say that before,' she said, standing from the couch. 'Let's go.'

He liked this dominant side of her, but he knew pretty soon she'd be in a different position. So he lead her to his bedroom and slowly started undressing her, avoiding her lips seeking contact with his. She moaned in frustration and decided to aid him in removing her blouse and skirt.

In no time, she was naked except for her lingerie and he was only wearing his boxers. His breath was taken away when he saw her in beautiful deep blue panties and bra, the rim lacy and looking incredibly soft on her light skin tone. His arousal became more evident and Brennan smiled, moving close to him and putting her arms around his neck. She kissed him and this time he didn't avoid her, but confronted her by dueling her tongue with his. He won and invaded her mouth without a thought, fuelling both their arousals.

'You know, I find it quite hot myself, what I'm about to do,' she whispered to him. 'It is very arousing.'

Her voice was soft and slightly raspy, betraying her arousal. He stood back and just looked at her in awe while she moved up the bed to sit between the pillows. 'It is hot, you'll see. And in case you were wondering, it's not too soon. Never, for anything.'

She smiled at him from her position in the centre of the top end, loving him even more for knowing what was going through her mind without her saying it. They didn't need voices. Especially now.

Voices were lost to both of them when Brennan reached behind her to unclasp and remove her bra. Even though Booth thought the color was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen on her body, he loved the piece of garment even more on the floor. He wanted to reach for her and swirl his hot tongue over her nipples, but something told him she was ready for him to take the watchers position. So he sat directly opposite her, in the centre of the foot end of the bed, legs straight so they were between Bones' legs.

She looked at him, her eyes dark but clear, and he nodded his encouragement. It was hard for him to control his awe, his eyes not knowing where to concentrate: Her eyes were begging him to keep contact, but her body was screaming for his attention. He followed her hands, travelling from her belly slowly up to cup her breasts.

Brennan had never touched herself before with someone watching. She had fantasized about it but it wasn't nearly the same. She was a little nervous and she knew Booth saw it. Still, his eyes burned into her skin with more desire than she'd ever seen. It gave her the confidence to continue, and slowly, ever so slowly she cupped her breasts. She breathed in deeply, causing her breasts to push up into her hands. She licked her lips and leaned her head back on the headboard. Booth was still looking at her hands, his own hands gripping the sheets to stop himself from taking over from her. She smiled at him and he met her eyes. 'I love you, Bones,' he whispered.

She smiled softly, her eyes giving him the answer. For someone who didn't believe in the display of emotions in one's eyes, she sure was good at it. She seemed to relax more and her hands continued to touch her breasts. A soft moan escaped her and Booth grew more aroused by the second. Her hands moved down to the rim of her panties and Booth couldn't stop himself. He moved forward towards her and covered her hands with his. Without words, he let her know he wanted to do this part because he found it so incredibly erotic to remove them that even thinking about it could make him hard. She allowed him his indulgence and lifted her hips towards him so he could remove her deep blue panties. He kissed her lower belly before sliding the garment down her legs and off. He dropped it and moved back to his position at the other end of the bed.

Temperance felt very hot. Her body was aching for attention from Booth, but her mind wanted to do this herself. So her hands wandered down her body, stroking her stomach and upper thighs before slowly moving to where she wanted them most. She spread her legs some more and pulled one foot up to stand on the bed, giving herself better access and Booth a better view. Booth had removed his boxers and looked like he was having trouble staying alive, and she loved the power she had over him. His eyes were fixed on her hands, and slowly she drew them back up her body, just to tease him. He sucked in a breath when he saw her pinch her nipples softly, and she moaned at the feelings this was creating. This was one of those sexual acts she had never really imagined she'd do, and yet here she was, thoroughly enjoying herself.

Finally, her own need overpowered her need to please Booth and her hands wandered back down to her core. She felt a rush of desire run through her at the thought of doing this, and she felt the wetness gather in her core. She smiled and locked eyes with Booth again, who she could see was very aroused. Still, he wasn't touching himself, and Brennan smiled to herself. He wanted to last for her.

Her fingers ran through her folds, gathering and spreading wetness as they went. Slowly she pushed one finger inside and slowly moved it. She added another finger and tried to figure out what Booth had done exactly. It felt good, her fingers knew her body better than anyone else, but still it wasn't what she'd felt with Booth. She looked at him and he smiled. 'Just continue, I'll help,' he whispered. 'You look incredible.'

She smiled back and nodded, closing her eyes and concentrating on her fingers and the feelings they were creating.

Heat and electricity ran through her, coiling down to her core and fuelling her arousal. She felt Booth's hands run up her legs and slowly spread them further. She removed her fingers and suddenly opened her eyes when she felt him catch her hand and lick her fingers. 'So hot,' he whispered, and released her hand. She continued stroking herself and Booth moved further up next to her, his mouth kissing up her arm and softly licking the side of her breast.

'Want me to show you?' he teased and Brennan looked at him. 'But just show, I want to feel me do it as well,' she whispered to him and he wondered how he would ever survive this night. 'Ok,' he answered and moved back down. She put her hands on her stomach and he started stroking her, making sure his fingers were touching her clit with every stroke. Then, he entered her with two fingers. His fingers were much broader than hers and she moaned loudly, the feeling itself causing another rush of wetness.

'Want me to walk you through it?' he asked softly, not wanting to break the spell.

She nodded, not answering.

'Just.. Curl them, like this,' he said, and curled his fingers slightly towards her stomach. He only just penetrated her and he knew she'd feel it soon enough. She did, and he felt her insides clench. He kissed her thighs and stroked her insides with long strokes, making sure he passed her spot every time so she could locate it herself. She was writhing on the bed. 'Stop.. Please, Booth,' she moaned and he smiled. She was very close but she didn't want to come on his fingers, not this time. So he withdrew and moved back down the bed swiftly, becoming the observer once more. She didn't open her eyes but her fingers found their way inside and within no time, she'd figured it out. 'Oh, this is good,' she whispered and he saw her fingers experiment with rhythm and speed. 'Try pressure,' he whispered, and he didn't care how strange it sounded. She did and found it to be an extraordinary feeling.

Suddenly, without warning, she came on her own fingers. She went completely silent and her chest raised off the bed, then a deep moan which was almost a cry escaped her and she fell back on the bed. He moved over her and found her lips, kissing her deeply. She wound her arms around his back and he entered her while she was still riding out her orgasm. She yelled his name and hung onto him while he thrust slowly and deeply. It only took a few seconds for him to be on the edge and he wanted her to join him, so he changed his angle and kissed her deeply, his hand caressing her nipple. She didn't know what was happening but she didn't really care. 'Oh God,' she whispered and he bit her neck. 'Booth, I'm coming again,' she warned, and he smiled, finding her lips again. One more well-placed thrust and she was coming again, taking him with her.

The world was spinning, she didn't know where she was or who she was with. Then she opened her eyes and looked straight into his brown eyes, shining with love and adoration for her. 'That was… Absolutely fantastic, Bones,' he whispered.

'It was definitely amazing,' she answered. 'I've never done that before.'

'You were amazing. Let's do it again,' he joked. She laughed. 'I'm not sure I can move, let alone do that again.'

'Then let's stay here for a little while,' he said, enveloping her in an embrace that made her feel safe and loved. She nodded into his chest and kissed it softly before closing her eyes. Angela was right, she could trust this man with anything, and what they had just shared had been something that had always been meant for him alone. She was glad she did it, she had never felt so beautiful and loved as she had tonight. But then again this man had the power to do that to her every time she saw him. Right now, she decided not to analyze but to enjoy, and as she lay there, feeling his heartbeat and his hands softly caress her back, she knew this was her place in life. Next to him.


End file.
